Naruto: Building Legacies
by schoolme23
Summary: In our lives we build up a legacy. Will we leave behind an inspiration for those who are to come, or will the story be a tale of tragedy? The legacy of several citizens of the Village Hidden in the Leaves is decided one fateful moment when Sasuke faced a choice. He could defend his home, or destroy it. How would the story end if he had stayed set on the path of vengeance?
1. The Declaration

**A message from your author...**

**First, thank you for giving this little story a chance. I do hope you enjoy it. I'm not new to the world of creative writing, but this is my first fanfiction. I realize there are probably plenty of grammatical errors, misspelled words, and comma splices. Over time I will comb through and fix them. Second, I wrote this little number a few months back when the manga was sending Sasuke for story time with the First Hokage. I kind of figured that was to give Sasuke the choice to defend or destroy the Leaf village, and I couldn't help but wonder how things would play out if Sasuke stayed with the dark side. I kind of assumed that you, the reader, are up to date on the manga thus far. Just in case you aren't I try to leave out spoilers nonessential to my story. Thirdly, I welcome constructive criticism and only ask that it be constructive and not complaining, bashing, whining, etc. I feel like I have a firm grasp on what my strengths and weaknesses as a writer are, but I strive to improve. So please, let me know what you think. Finally, the Naruto brand. You don't own it, I don't own it, and if any of us did we probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it. Again, thanks and enjoy!**

"Dialogue" ... "**Stressed/Demonic**" ... 'Thoughts' ... _Flashback_

* * *

The sky was grey, cloudy, and dead. No birds could be seen flying. Although it was obvious clouds were there, no discernible shapes or outlines could be seen. The great expanse was shapeless and void. Its color was an expressionless grey. Not a dark grey that would convey an anger equal to nature's fury, and nor was it a light grey that would mirror the anticipation of the coming storm. The sky simply looked dead.

'Lifeless and dim, just like her eyes.'

Rain poured forth from the sky in a steady and even flow. It was neither too heavy nor too light. Just enough for several drops of rain to streak down the face of a lone man. It rolled off his face like tears as he stood staring into the sky, remembering the reasons for what he was about to do.

'Streams of pain and sorrow pouring down her cheeks.'

The cold was biting. Constantly, it gnawed at his every extremity only amplified by the rain and the occasional gust of wind. His gaze fell from the sky and dropped toward the large stone he stood a few feet in front of. Carved into the face of the rock were countless names. It was the names of the fallen that decorated the stone. His eyes darted across its surface, searching for one name in particular. His body betrayed the mood he was in as it shivered once the cold air lashed at him once more. He recomposed himself and began adjusting to the cold as he tried his best to appear detached.

'Cold, like her hand upon my face.'

His blue eyes scanning, searching, for the one name that mattered to him right now. He knew that it had been added to the memorial's list not but two days prior. He had not been in attendance. This was partly because he had been preparing his next move, but mostly because he couldn't bear watching another ceremony to honor her memory.

'Just another memory that would forever remind me of her death, and my failure.'

Then he saw the characters on the wet, polished chunk of earth and sighed. The water was filling the carving and deep down he knew he had to try to explain himself to her, and to the small audience that was waiting in the shadows. Searching for words he closed his eyes and hoped that she could hear what he had to say.

"Sakura," another sigh escaped his lips as his words whimpered out.

"Sakura, I am so sorry," Tears were building up. He was thankful that the rain would mask them as he continued, "All of this my fault. You paid for my failure with your life. I never once wanted to imagine that Sasuke had become so warped, twisted, and evil. Everyone tried to warn me, and I guess deep down I knew, but I never wanted to listen. Itachi told me it was possible when we first spoke. Gaara explained I would have to handle the situation as a Kage not as a friend, and you," he stopped, unable to finish the immediate thought.

His breath hitched. He had failed in fighting back the onslaught of tears and was merely trying to save face by not breaking down right now. He closed his eyes and drew in a slow, deep breath, and tried to collect himself.

"You," he continued "you tried to get me to quit. You tried to tell me to give up, but I guess some things just don't change easily. I just had to continue my quest, my fool's errand. I was so desperate to save a friend, a friend who never wanted to be saved. I didn't want to go through it alone so I told you that you were lying to yourself and I filled your heart with false hopes and grand delusions."

Pausing once again he gathered his thoughts. He never did have the gift for giving speeches, he just bore out his soul for people and that usually worked. "Then when it really mattered, when you really needed me to be there, I wasn't. I couldn't save you. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough," He was on the verge of a total emotional collapse and began breathing in slow, painful breaths. He couldn't help but recall how that he had been entirely powerless in the moment of her passing.

'The confessions are over, just one last apology then I'll tell her what I need to say. Just need to be strong and remember the reason for doing this.'

"I am truly sorry Sakura, for everything. I made you a promise one day so many years ago. I haven't forgotten. It was the promise of a lifetime. I will never forget the promise I made, and I just wish you would have been alive to see it fulfilled. Right now I would much rather spend the rest of my days as a failure and a liar in your eyes if it meant you were still here. We rarely get what we want though, and as it stands I never go back on my word." Once more closing his eyes he had found it. The purpose, the drive, the commitment, and the anger that brought him to this place had all become clear again.

"I will find Sasuke. I will bring him back to you. I will not be setting foot in this village again until it is done," With his lofty resolution firmly stated he began to feel the weight of held back emotions lifting. He heard a few faint gasps behind him. Had he not been listening for reactions from the small group of eavesdroppers their shock would have been missed. He allowed a small smirk to form on his face slightly pleased by the fact that he could still live up to his unpredictable reputation.

Closing his eyes he crouched down and let his hand rest upon the stone. Rubbing his fingers over the slick surface and the various markings he tried to find her name with his hand. He wondered if the five people hiding behind the tree line were more shocked that he would still be fulfilling a promise made to a woman now dead, or that he wouldn't be returning to the village until the deed was done. His fingers traced the characters forming the name HARUNO SAKURA.

'This last time when you said it, it was the truth. I think the time before that was true also, but this time there was no motive behind it. It was just the truth plain and simple. I will do what you asked of me. I will fulfill my last promise of a lifetime, but not until I finally finish the first one.'

"I will always love you Sakura," he whispered opening his eyes and standing up once more, blissfully unaware that the words that had filled his heart slipped past his lips.

A firm hand rested upon his shoulder and was quickly accompanied by a soft yet concerned voice, "Naruto," it paused, "there are better ways to honor her memory than carrying out a promise that she regretted having you make."

"A promise is a promise Kakashi-sensei, and I do not intend on breaking one. No matter the circumstances," Naruto responded not moving from his position in front of the memorial stone.

"Listen Naruto, I know this all started with the best of intentions, but it tore her to pieces to see him go mad with revenge. It broke her further when she watched you face death just to try and make her happy," Kakashi paused, waiting for a reaction and found none so he pressed forward. "You do know right? How she felt about you I mean. You do know how much you meant to her don't you?"

"Yeah Sensei, I know. That is exactly why I can't let this one go. I have to do this," Naruto answered with a quiet resolve in his voice.

"Sasuke has no desire to return. The only reason he would come back to the village would be to burn it to the ground, you know that."

"Yeah Sensei, I know. The whole Sasuke thing has gone on long enough though. With what has happened now I can't treat it like I have in the past. Just waiting until he shows up at the village gates is only going to cause more problems. I have to go. I have to find him and settle this once and for all. I made Sakura a promise and even though I know I should have never made it, I never go back on my word. I will see it through," Naruto said with a reserved boldness which Kakashi knew to be a statement that nobody would stop him from accomplishing his self-appointed mission.

Sighing once more and accepting his own defeated attempt to keep Naruto from his plans, he prepared himself for the next leg of the conversation. "Before the end, Sakura saw in you what she had always dreamed and wished Sasuke would become. She saw a brave, powerful, shinobi. She saw a man who was fierce, fierce against every enemy, a fierce defender of his loved ones, fiercely loyal, and even a fierce romantic. When she was younger that was what she thought Sasuke was. As her eyes were opened, that was what she dreamed Sasuke would be. As the years grew on, she learned two things. The first was that Sasuke, despite being in love with him, was walking a path that she could never follow. The second thing that she realized was that you were the man that she had always desired. If you walk through the village gates searching for vengeance the same way he did, she would never forgive you."

"Yeah Sensei, I know."

"Then don't do this Naruto. Don't follow in Sasuke's footsteps, don't make the same mistakes. Don't blacken your soul with hatred, vengeance, and death. Don't go chasing revenge," Kakashi calmly pleaded hoping that Naruto would relent from his quest for blood.

"I have spent a lot of time thinking about this Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stopped and searched for the words to match both his resolve and his mission's purpose. Kakashi waited patiently as an eerie quiet settled over the pair. Naruto slowly turned to face the man he had known to be a teacher, a mentor, and a friend. There are some things that have to be said while you are looking a person in the eye. As far as Naruto was concerned, this was one of those moments.

"I wanted revenge when I saw the blade piercing her chest. I wanted revenge as she was trying to calm me down, and prepare me for the inevitable end. I wanted revenge after she said her last words. I wanted revenge when her last breath left her lungs and the light in her eyes faded away. I wanted revenge when they buried her. I wanted revenge when I learned that there were no plans to immediately pursue Sasuke. I wanted revenge for little while. So two days ago, after they carved her name into this stone, after I learned rumors regarding Sasuke's whereabouts and started verifying his next steps, after I tried to drink myself to oblivion," Naruto recounted the moments that he wanted to strip the life from his former comrade just because he thought he would feel better afterward.

"Naruto," Kakashi interrupted with a parental harshness in his tone of voice that would have startled Naruto if he had not already expected it.

"Don't worry Kakashi," Naruto said with a small chuckle forcing its way out, "It was the first and the last time. Anyway, I don't really remember how my thoughts got there while I was drinking, but I realized what you just said." Naruto closed his eyes pausing again. Once more he found his drive, his will, his righteous fury, and the words to express them.

"I won't follow Sasuke's path. I have overcome it before. I wanted revenge for Jiraiya after he died, but when I had the chance I never took it. I know if I acted out in revenge the Sakura would never forgive me for it. So I won't look for the revenge I desired Sensei. No, I want justice, justice for the Leaf, and justice for Sakura. Sasuke has committed crimes against this village, against his comrades, against you, and against Sakura. I'm not even going to start on the crimes he committed against other villages. I will see justice done. I promised Sakura I would bring him back, but I never promised he would come back alive. Sasuke must pay for his crimes, and one way or another, he will pay for them with his life," Naruto stated with barely contained passion.

Kakashi could not deny the fire in Naruto's eyes. He knew that Naruto meant every last word. Huffing out a great sigh Kakashi understood he could not make Naruto sway, and he would no longer try to.

"Well, you are right after all," Kakashi replied with a frustrated breath. "Even if Sasuke wanted to come back peaceably he would be executed. Sasuke has killed an acting Hokage and a former teammate; there can be no redemption for him here," and though he knew he could not stop Naruto from going to confront his former teammate he could not let him go without some form of assurance.

"You promise me that this is not for revenge," Kakashi softly demanded.

"I promise you Kakashi-sensei, this is not for revenge," Naruto answered. There was no deceit to be found in his countenance.

"Very well then," Kakashi answered as a sign of his consent and trust.

"I'll make progress reports and have them delivered to Tsunade weekly."

"Good, we can't have the village thinking that its greatest hero has gone rogue. Good luck out there, and do give Sasuke my greetings." As he gave his best wishes, Kakashi handed Naruto a small tube shaped package wrapped in cloth.

Unwrapping the cloth Naruto saw a sheathed tantō with a circular guard. Removing the blade from its sheath he found the it to have an almost unnatural silver gleam. Holding it up he allowed his chakra to flow into the sword and it seemed to have an inward glow that pulsed with a white-silver aura. Naruto gasped slightly when he realized what he held. "The White Light," he whispered, "Sensei I thought you said the blade was broken."

"Things can be repaired you know," Kakashi said with an unseen smile, "I want you to have it. I know that you want to handle this on your own and I respect that, but what Sasuke has become is partly my fault. I was far too flippant about his motives and his attitude. It is time that I step up and take responsibility for my failures as the Sensei of Team Seven. So consider this to be me helping you in the fight to come."

"I don't know if I can take this Sensei. I mean, this is your father's sword. Besides it just kind of makes it all feel a little like I am getting revenge for you," Naruto said skeptical of the gift and it's intentions.

"Either you take it or you take me," Kakashi said with a look in his eye that relayed the fact he wasn't taking no for an answer. "Either way, I want you to have it. Your father did so much for me and I have done so little for you, so I want this to be the symbol of me making up for all that lost time."

"Don't get all moody on me Sensei, you have done plenty for me. If it wasn't for you I would still be an academy brat trying to do everything on my own instead of becoming a part of a team. I wouldn't have learned what true strength was if it wasn't for you. I'll use it if it really means that much to you, but it still sort of seems like a symbol of revenge or something," Naruto explained still examining the sharpness of the blade before returning it to its sheath.

"Well, if it helps just think of it as poetic justice," Kakashi offered as an alternative thought. Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

"I'll see you again soon Sensei."

"Be careful Naruto," Kakashi said knowing the irony of telling a man going to battle to be careful.

"I will," and with his final assurance spoken Naruto leapt away, strapping the blade to his back as he moved toward the village gates.

"I'm sorry too Sakura. I could have, no, I should have been a better teacher and mentor to both you and Naruto. Despite what he said I know that I have done both of you wrong," Kakashi said quietly while watching his last loyal student leave.

"I take it he is leaving then," the voice of Tsunade rang in his ears.

"Yes, he has probably left the village by now," Kakashi answered.

"Damned fool," Tsunade muttered only half meaning it, "At least tell me you know what his feelings are on the matter. I can't have him winding up like Sasuke. It's bad enough that he is doing what Jiraiya did, just leaving the village never knowing when or if he'll return."

"He's not after revenge; he just wants justice brought to Sasuke. I think the only reason he is going alone is because he knows what we all know. Naruto is the only one of us who really stands a chance against Sasuke at this point,"

"At least I have that much," Tsunade sighed as Kakashi turned and met the gaze of his commander finding a mixture of frustration and worry. "Naruto, you pain in the ass."

"He sure is isn't he," Kakashi said absentmindedly while quietly laughing as he reminisced about all the trouble Naruto had brought to him over the years.

"You don't know the half of it Kakashi," Tsunade snorted out a bit of a laugh, "This little stunt of his is going to create so much work for me. I'll have to forge some mission papers for him, file tons of paperwork regarding the mission and all of the weekly reports that he had better be sending me, and to top things off I will get to deal with a panicked, slightly angry, council when they learn he just took off. When Naruto gets back I'm going to string him up by his toes and use him as my personal punching bag."

"Still, I don't think I would want him any other way," Kakashi said as his masked face rose toward the sky. The rain began to stop as Tsunade begrudgingly agreed.

"Just come back safe," Tsunade said to an absent Naruto as he dashed across the trees in the forest surrounding the Village Hidden in the Leaves.


	2. Moving Forward

Ino and Hinata walked back towards the village proper in silent contemplation. The gentle rhythm of raindrops breaking against the umbrellas each woman held in their hand gave a calming sensation. It was a calm that allowed the mind to freely reflect on the topics the mind had a hard time grasping. It had been three years since the Fourth Great Shinobi War had been brought to an end. The war itself had been a hard fought victory, and everyone on the Allied Forces suffered incredible losses. Ino had lost her father, and Hinata a cousin that she had come to see as an older brother. It only lasted a matter of days, making it seem less like war and more like an international conflict, but in those long and grueling days tens of thousands of lives had been snuffed out. Calling it a war just seemed appropriate. All of it happened because some lunatic wanted to capture Naruto.

Ino had found it hard not to blame Naruto for her father's death. She remembered the day she discussed the matter with Sakura. It was the day of what would have been her parents wedding anniversary, and she had been comforting her mother most of the day. She was frustrated, sad, and looking for an outlet. Sakura dropped by, knowing what the day represented, and wanted to go grab some dinner and help Ino take her mind off her troubles. Ino could never forget the conversation.

"_If he had just stayed away from the fighting like he was supposed to, maybe my dad would still be alive. I can't look at him without wishing he had never been born. He is the reason that whole war began in the first place, and he is the only one I can blame."_

_Sakura sighed loudly and reset some of her pink tresses to rest behind her ear. "I know you are upset Ino, really I do. I would probably feel the same way if I lost my mom, but blaming Naruto isn't right."_

"_What do you want me to say?" Ino said with heat behind her voice. Her anger had surfaced quickly, "Do you want me to say that everything is alright, that I can just forget everything that happened during the war? I had to fight and basically kill my Sensei Sakura. It would have been different if he had been some mindless drone, but he knew who he was. He knew what he was doing, and he couldn't stop himself. He was trying to kill his students! He was trying to kill us! All he could do was hope he didn't and beg us to stop him. He begged us to end his life again. Then Shikamaru's dad gave his final strategy to stop the enemy via my father before they died. My dad's last message to me was cut off when he died Sakura. He didn't even have time to finish his last words. If Naruto had never been around then things would be better," Ino said bluntly, so sure it was truth._

"_Ino I know you are suffering right now, but listen to me if Naruto hadn't been around everything would have been much worse for everyone. Think about it. Shikaku's strategy was completely dependent on Naruto so without him we would have lost the war and the world would have been pretty much over," Sakura said with a confident assurance that forced Ino to reconsider her position, and quickly concede the importance of Naruto's roll during the war._

"_But let me keep going," Sakura continued after their food had arrived. Sakura took a quick drink of her tea and Ino prepared herself for a humbling experience. "Before the war, when Pein attacked the village, who defeated Pein?"_

"_Naruto," Ino admitted quickly._

"_More so, after beating Pein who was it that managed to convince him to revive every single person that died during the attack?"_

"_Naruto did," Ino responded as she began shying away from the stare of her best friend._

"_Alright, when the Rookie Nine all took part in the Chunin Exams, who was it that saved the village when Gaara had gone crazy?"_

"_Naruto," Ino mumbled. She knew it was wrong to place blame on the guy, and was quickly learning how vital he had been to her home's safety._

"_When the Nine Tailed Fox was attacking the village and the Fourth Hokage had to seal the beast away to protect the village, who did that burden fall on?"_

"_It was Naruto," Ino whimpered feeling about two inches tall as she more than realized how much Naruto had done for the whole of the village simply by being alive._

"_Ino, you were there that day. You saw what happened after Neji died didn't you?"_

"_Yes," Knowing exactly what her friend had alluded to she didn't wait for a follow up question but proceeded with her answer, "Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want anyone, especially another friend, to die for him. He was going to surrender himself to Madara and that other guy, and he would have if it wasn't for Hinata."_

"_Exactly," Sakura began. "So how can you still blame a guy if he would have willingly surrendered his life so that nobody else had to die for his sake?"_

"_I guess I really can't," Ino said as she began to sob._

_Ino felt Sakura move closer to her and embrace her in a hug. He dear friend had wordlessly allowed her all the time she needed to let out her long held back tears. It was merely five minutes before Ino's cries began to die down. This was not the first time she had openly mourned her father in this manner, but it was usually with her teammates. After the war had ended she had felt the need to put on a strong face both for her mother and for her clan. With both her duties as a ninja and her new duties as a clan head she had little time to properly mourn her father's passing. All of the pent up emotions had not found a proper outlet, and Ino knew that it was only a matter of time before the grief, regret, and anger pushed her mental state beyond the breaking point._

_She tried to resolve the bouts of grief and regret in the precious few moments that she could spend with Shikamaru and Choji on either an individual or group basis. Shikamaru helped greatly in dealing with the newfound sense of loss since his father passed in the same tragic moment. Choji had been her rock. His calm and resolute presence had really been exactly what she had needed in dealing with her father's death. He would take whatever she had to dish out without complaint and without question. When she needed words of compassion and encouragement he always had the right ones, and if she needed someone to simply listen he always inclined his ears. If she had found any positive outcome from the war it was that her view of Choji, and Choji's view of himself, vastly improved. He gained an unshakable confidence and resolve. While he never put it on brazen display as Naruto and Kiba would, Ino knew it was there, and he would frequently show it for Ino by sweeping away her various troubles and insecurities. Having him say that he would be there for her, and help her with whatever she asked meant the world to her._

_Sakura's continued presence in her life had reassured her of how invaluable her best friend was. Throughout her life she propped Ino up when her spirits needed lifting, and knocked her down a peg or two when she had lost her perspective. Ino would return the favor in kind, but lately this service had been one sided as Sakura was the one balancing her out in a time of great emotional instability. Ino collected herself, detached from the embrace, and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "You're right Sakura, and you make it really hard not to like the guy. Kind of makes me wonder why you haven't told him how you feel about him yet."_

_Watching Sakura blush was well worth every minute Ino had felt embarrassed about crying in public. "Well, I, umm, he," Sakura stuttered as she returned to her place at the table._

"_Oh, you don't say?" Ino mocked as she allowed her chin to rest upon her hands held aloft over her plate awaiting Sakura's actual response._

"_Naruto is with Hinata now, you know that. He seems to be really happy with her, and I don't want to come between them," Sakura quietly responded, but Ino saw the longing in her eyes._

"_Yeah they do make quite the couple, but do you honestly think that he has just dropped his own feelings for you?"_

"_I know that he cares for me, but he still thinks I am in love with Sasuke," Sakura answered. It was a weak response, and to Ino it sounded as though Sakura had simply accepted the status quo.  
_

"_Do you still love Sasuke?" Ino asked mustering as serious a look as she could manage, only slightly concerned at what her friend's answer might be_

"_No, not entirely. I'm not like Naruto, I don't think things will just go back to the way they were. I lost hope that would happen after that day on the bridge. I love Sasuke like a friend or a brother, and it kills me to see him this way. I just don't think I can move on until this whole mess is settled between Naruto, Sasuke, and myself. I guess Naruto sees my desire to have closure and mistakes it for still being in love with Sasuke. It's why he spends all of his free time trying to track him down."_

"_Hmmm," Ino pondered aloud. She was presently doing the two of the things she enjoyed most: armchair psychology and meddling in a friend's love life, "it sounds to me like he just wants to make you happy. He totally clueless about your feelings, but he is trying desperately to bring you happiness. So you need to let him know that he is the only guy who can make you happy."_

"_But what about Hinata?" Sakura protested Ino's line of thought. "She has loved Naruto since our days in the Academy, I can't break up their relationship just because I recently realized I'm in love with him."_

"_So you do love him," Ino smiled at drawing out the desired confession. "Look, just because she has felt that way about him longer than you have it doesn't make the way you feel about him now any less valid. Besides, you know Naruto on a deeper emotional level than Hinata does. You have been on a team together since you guys were genin. You have known all of his dreams, all of his fears, all of his secrets, and he knows you on the exact same level. There is obvious chemistry still lingering between you two, and it isn't just the chemistry between long time teammates. So I still think you should tell him. If you don't want to feel guilty about stealing away Naruto from Hinata then go talk to her. Have a heart to heart about both of your feelings for Naruto, and if she has no plans on leaving him then at least you settled the matter and can work toward moving on."_

"_Maybe," Sakura said with a far off look in her eye before returning her gaze to Ino. "What about you and Choji? Is there anything going on there that I need to know about?"_

"_Maybe," Ino said while growing a bright red glow on her face._

Tears began to fill the corner of Ino's eyes as she recalled the simple moment with her best friend now gone. Her hands gripped her umbrella tightly as she once more realized that she would no longer share moments like that with Sakura. She no longer held such ill thoughts of Naruto, and never had them in earnest. After getting to know the man a little he had really impressed her with his determination and loyalty. These were qualities that she had also found in the man who had captured her heart not too long ago. At Sakura's urging, she had accepted Choji's offer for a date. Ino was reluctant initially. Many who did not have an understanding of who she was took her hesitation as simply being shallow. Choji patiently waited for her decision knowing her thoughts on the matter, and respecting them completely. For all of the years that they had known each other the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination had come to have a very close knit relationship. They viewed each other as the siblings that none of them had ever had.

'To think at one point I was worried that a relationship with Choji would be like dating my brother or something. Sakura saw my apprehension and she just pushed me right through it. I would have never gone out with Choji if she hadn't convinced me otherwise. I wonder if she ever knew how grateful I am for her?'

Ino slowed to a halt and turned in the general direction of the memorial stone and gazed at the horizon 'I hope you know, Sakura. I hope you know how much you mean to me. You were my best friend. I will never forget you and all that you have done for me.'

"Is everything alright?" A still voice fell on Ino's unheeding ears. She was lost in her own thoughts briefly before she realized that someone had been talking to her.

"Ino?" At that Ino turned to see Hinata standing a few feet away holding her own umbrella with a concerned yet curious look on her face, "Are you feeling okay?"

Ino felt a small smile grow on her face as she looked at the concern written all over the woman before her. Hinata always cared about her friends. Even in spite of the tension the two women shared on a frequent basis Hinata had given Ino all of the support and compassion she needed. Ino understood why they didn't always get along, and had learned to deal with the fact that there might be some rough patches in their friendship. She was, however, always amazed at how quick Hinata was there to lend a hand when trouble arose. If there ever was a person to fit the definition of a true friend, then Hinata fit quite well.

"I'm alright Hinata. I'm just thinking," Ino said wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Oh, alright," Hinata responded meekly. "If anything is wrong I will do my best to help you."

"Thank you Hinata. It's just kind of a shock, you know. I think I'll be alright, but it will be pretty rough."

"I understand," Hinata responded with a far off look. There was no doubt in Ino's mind that her friend was thinking of the recent hardship in her own life. Ino did not know much of the girl's personal life, but had a firm grasp on the major events since she always did keep an ear to the ground for good gossip. There was, of course, the war which changed so much in Hinata's world. She had lost her cousin to the enemy in a drastic last ditch effort to save Naruto from certain death. The return home had been a bittersweet moment. For soon after the homecoming Hinata had begun to take an increased role in clan leadership, not as the heir, but as an advisor to her father regarding changes in policy. With the news of Neji's great sacrifice gaining attention in the village and Hiashi's very vocal talk of change for the sake of future generations, enough support had been gathered to make the difference the Hyuuga girl had hoped for. Hinata had finally seen the use of the Caged Bird Seal forbidden. No longer were the branch family members branded, and no longer did they have to fear the ones who were their family by blood. The only downside was that the sealing technique had never been designed with removal in mind, and so a safe and effective removal technique was being developed by the only sealing master still alive in the village. Those who were branded were patiently awaiting the day where the seal could be removed without taking their Byakugan away.

"Hinata, I was thinking about going and getting some nice, hot, tea, and maybe a bite to eat," Ino paused letting the idea sink in a bit. "Would you like to join me?"

"Yes, I think I would like that," Hinata said quietly. Ino was unsure if Hinata was just being her quiet old self, or if she had reservations about being with her longer than necessary.

"Good," Ino said wondering if it was a good idea to press forward with her line of thought, and decided upon the reasoning of 'Why not?' "I know that we haven't gotten along that well lately, but I do think of you as a good friend and I hope that we can become closer."

"Honestly, I have a hard time believing that with all that you have done," Hinata said calmly, but Ino did not fail to notice that the calm attitude did nothing to belie her subtle irritation at Ino's rather bold words.

"Perhaps I have given you some pretty good reasons not to believe that, but my only reason for doing anything was so Sakura could deal with her own feelings toward Naruto, but we can talk more about that when we get there."

"I would really rather not," Hinata said plainly

"Look, I told you that I want to be a better friend to you, and if that is going to happen then we are going to have to work through this," Ino replied matter-of-factly.

"Do I really mean that much to you?"

"Yes," Ino said with obvious agitation "If you didn't I wouldn't bother. I mean honestly, how could you still see yourself in such a poor light?"

Silence was Ino's response, which was fine since her question really was a rhetorical one. Ino had a lot of ground to cover if she was going to get Hinata to view her as a true friend, and she would do it. The number of women both Hinata and Ino could turn to for comfort, guidance, support, or just a simple conversation, was beginning to dwindle.

"What do you think about Naruto's declaration?" Ino asked, curious about Hinata's thoughts.

"I, I um," Hinata sighed, "I am unsure of what to think."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sure it makes sense that Naruto would keep his promise even now. That's just the kind of guy he is. On the other hand, why would he waste his time trying to bring Sasuke back at this point?"

"I am worried that Naruto is not planning to bring Sasuke back the way he originally planned," Ino noticed Hinata's downcast face and was curious as to what she meant in saying such a thing.

"What do you mean?" Asking the obvious question. Subtlety was so often overrated when trying to learn how people feel on matters.

"I am worried that Naruto is going to get revenge for Sakura's death," Ino noted that the look on Hinata was one of fear. She was clearly afraid that Naruto would succumb to the darkness that lie in the heart of every man.

"Normally I would disagree, because it would take something truly traumatic to make Naruto want to kill somebody. However, since something truly traumatic just happened to him I can't help but think you may be right," Ino admitted seeing a downcast expression find Hinata's face once more. 'She is still madly in love with this man,' Ino thought as she began turning her mind to ways to bring the pair back together.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it though," Ino said with a chipper tone trying to lift Hinata's spirits. "Kakashi-sensei didn't seem too worried about Naruto leaving, and before he went to talk he did say something about not standing by and watching as another student walked down the same dark road, or something like that. That guy is always so cryptic."

"Maybe," Hinata seemed hesitant to believe that everything would be alright, "Naruto was always really good at hiding his true feelings. Would Kakashi-sensei really be able to see through all of Naruto's masks?"

"Of course, he was Naruto's Sensei for years so he would know exactly how to read Naruto," Ino declared confident that it was truth.

"I hope you're right Ino. I don't think I could bear losing Naruto. Not like that."

There was another silence growing as the pair was able to see their destination in view. 'Hinata must feel entirely helpless right now. The man she loves just left the village for who knows how long, and to top it all off he left to kill the man who just killed the girl he had been in love with for most of his life. How troublesome,' Ino thought.

"Great! Thanks a lot Shika," Ino grumbled to herself, annoyed that she was even thinking in the lazy man's vocabulary.

"What was that?" Hinata asked meekly.

"Oh nothing I was just thinking," Ino replied as her voice drifted off. They were nearing the door of the tea house, and Ino noticed that the pitter patter of falling rain on their umbrellas no longer made its way to her ears.

"If I may ask, what were you thinking about?"

"Oh I'm just trying to figure out how I can lift your spirits, and work through your insecurities so you can get back together with everyone's favorite knuckleheaded ninja," Ino answered with a wide grin on her face. She closed her umbrella confirming her ear's suspicions that the rain had stopped. She held the door open for her friend and her grin persisted seeing the growing red glow of a blush form on Hinata's cheeks.

"Do, do," the woman stuttered. "Are you really wanting to do all of that? Do you really think Naruto would want to get back together with me?" Hinata's words stumbled out of her.

"That and more Hinata. Come on we'll talk inside," and as the tea house door began to close two hearts began to open and started forming the bond of spiritual sisterhood found between two friends.


	3. The Challenge

The tea house was quiet. A simple little shop that served its purpose, but not the purpose that Naruto had stepped in for. He needed a lead, some Intel, a little help, and to step out of the rain. Any shop, restaurant, inn, abandoned building, or even a large rock would have gotten him out of the rain. He chose this particular tea house because it bore a familiar symbol. It bore her symbol, and he knew that if anyone could help him now she could.

'Ten months! Ten months and what have I accomplished? I've been chasing shadows and grasping the breeze.'

From the moment he left he knew that this would be a difficult journey. He held no illusions that this would be something he could accomplish quickly. However he did expect he would at least have made some progress other than successfully moving from point A to point B. He was beginning to think he had made a mistake in leaving. He was beginning to think that he had made a mistake in several areas in his life. His lack of progress had sown the seeds of doubt in his mind and they were taking root.

'I have looked in every single hide out for the Akatsuki, all of Orochimaru's old lairs, and even some of the Uchiha's weapons caches and I have found nothing. It is almost as if he has disappeared off the face of the earth.'

"Sir, are you sure that you don't want anything else to drink?" The elderly woman who owned the simple tea shop asked from behind the counter.

"No, I'm fine," Naruto sighed. "Are you sure that what you told me was the truth?"

"No," the woman responded, "but what more can I say? One day several years ago she was here among us, and then one day she was gone. If she lives I cannot say, but surely if she does she would have returned to help guide her people as she always did."

"You don't know if she is alive, but you are certain that Lady Konan is not in the village anymore," Naruto said. He was skeptical that was the full story, but he wasn't about to make a big scene with an elderly civilian.

"Correct."

Naruto sighed in defeat. He came to the Village Hidden in the Rain hoping that Konan could tell him more about the Akatsuki, and perhaps give him knowledge and locations of hideouts that might have been missed. At the very least he had hoped she could keep an eye out for Sasuke, or perhaps give him a lead to his whereabouts. Now, Naruto feared that she had died. How he didn't know, but he had to suspect that the Madara impersonator killed her.

'The guy did have a Rinnegan during our final battle. He must have taken it from Nagato, but he would have had to go through Konan to do it. She wouldn't just let that sort of thing happen.'

"Tell me boy, just how does a ninja of the Leaf Village know our Lady?"

"I don't but we had a lot in common." Naruto said with a smile wondering how she knew he was from the Leaf. He had removed his headband as to not draw attention to himself while in the foreign village. 'She knows a lot more than she is letting on after all. This should be interesting.'

"Really now? I find it curious. Before the last war I served many ninja in this tea house. Even the Lady herself came here one time, which is why I will always bear her symbol on my door, but in the time just before the war I heard of a change in our border policy."

Naruto's ears perked up. He had hoped that perhaps her rumor and hearsay could lead him to a solid clue. Even if it was nothing taking a chance couldn't hurt.

"Lady Konan had said that there was one ninja of the Leaf who would be allowed within our village under any circumstances. He and any who travelled with him would be welcomed as honored guests. They say that he is a handsome blond man, with striking blue eyes, and feral marks on his face. But these are just rumors, and our security has been lax since our Lady disappeared. So, I guess you never knew her after all."

"Hm, I can't say that I ever truly knew her. I can say that we had the honor of calling the same man teacher. We also watched as a single man, with the power of a god, tried to change the world," Naruto answered her vague hints in kind.

"I see," she replied sounding skeptical.

Naruto never looked directly at her while telling her this. He simply tried to gauge her reaction out of the corner of his eye. He could see there was conflict written on her face. It was almost as if she didn't know what to say, almost. The conflict was different than that. Naruto could tell.

'She knows something, that much is clear now, but she doesn't know if she trusts me enough to say it. I have no real way of proving to her that I am the person that Konan gave the privilege of free passage, and she has no real way of knowing if my connection to Konan makes me her friend or her foe.'

"I have heard a rumor recently. Just the other day in fact," the elderly woman said her voice trailing off leaving Naruto's brain hanging on the edge of its mental seat.

'This is it, a lead or another dead end.'

"They say that in the tallest tower near the center of the village there is a memorial to the Lord and Lady of the village. These days only the faithful go there, but the faithful are few and far between. Their halls remain silent, but not out of respect. Their halls are quiet because no visitors are allowed to honor their memory," The old woman said with her weathered face never leaving the pot of tea that sat in front of her.

Naruto looked at the small vase of flowers that decorated the table at which he sat. He then turned to the tea house owner and looked deep into her eyes. There was a look of worry and concern. As if she was unsure of something.

'No one is allowed to enter those grounds anymore, and those actually go, do so at their own risk. Either she feels like she just betrayed them, or is worried about her own safety now. She needs confirmation.'

"Are these flowers real ma'am?"

"Yes they are son," she answered slightly confused and completely trepidatious.

"They are beautiful," Naruto commented absently.

"Yes, yes they are."

"Would it be alright if I took them and lay them down at the grave of an old friend?"

The look on the woman's face was one of wonder and appreciation. Naruto could clearly see that any fears or reservations she held about trusting the man were wiped away. "Yes, I think that would be alright," she said with her voice holding back a cry.

'Even though he went far off the deep end when it came to achieving peace, Nagato and Konan were clearly beloved by many. I guess the new regime feels threatened by the loyalty that many people still hold to both of them. Best to tread lightly when I make my way to the tower.'

Grabbing the flowers in the vase he turned toward the door saying thank you for the tea and flowers.

"Come back sometime soon," she said as he stood from he seat at the table.

"Perhaps I will, when things quiet down a bit," Naruto answered feeling a bit hopeful for the first time in a while. It had not been what he had hoped to find when coming here, but something was better than nothing at this point.

Walking out the door Naruto placed the hood of his cloak over his head and started to weave his way into the flow of the afternoon crowd that occupied the streets. On a rare occasion a ninja could be seen jumping from rooftop to rooftop on patrol. Their pattern was already set in Naruto's mind. They formed a fairly standard web pattern with the epicenter being the headquarters of the new regime, and the patrol routes being the major roads and heavily trafficked areas. He had already learned that this new government wanted nothing to do with Pein, and as a result they placed the new government building as far off from Pein's tower as they could. Since the security forces of the village were stretched as thin as they were a large gap in security was left near the place known as Pein's Tower, amongst other places throughout the city.

'Compared to getting into this village, I should be able to just walk right up to Pein's tower. After all, the old woman did say that only the faithful visit which means it couldn't be guarded too heavily or locked down too securely if she is able to sneak in and out.'

His only wish at this point was that he knew about the leadership that was running the village now. He had heard several rumors running through his network of informants. Some had said that the leader was the descendant of Hanzo, others said he was Pein reincarnated, more still said he was the secret apprentice of the Lady and Lord of the Rain. The only conclusion that Naruto could arrive at is that either this person was incredibly good at keeping things under wraps, or the village was being run by a small council of jonin who had no time to clarify rumors.

'Either way, the instability that was left after Nagato's death created too many problems for this regime to last too long. I will need this place stabilized before the tailed beasts return to the world, otherwise it could be hundreds of years before we ever see peace,' Naruto thought about the possibilities the Rain's instability had. Should one of the tailed beast fall into the hands of the Village Hidden in the Grass, which had somewhat aggressive reputation, then they may make a move against the Rain. The chaos would only end in victory for the Hidden Grass and a new superpower could emerge. On the other hand, should the Hidden Rain capture a tailed beast then the instability would likely bring the nation into yet another civil war. Civil war in the Hidden Rain could end with the establishment of a unified village, but who would they be united under? Anyone willing to wage war against their fellow countrymen was clearly someone who could not easily be reasoned with, would likely be both aggressive and ambitious, and potentially power hungry. Of course, a civil war could also end with other nations invading to fill the vacuum of power the broken country would leave behind. None of those scenarios were very appealing to Naruto.

Tuning down a back alley he hid from a passing patrol. Something was off though. Naruto was no sensory ninja, but his gut told him that something was not right. Even though he knew that for most of his ninja career he had simply been lucky, his instincts had yet to fail him. The patrol passed and he quickly moved out. His senses expanded as far out as he safely could allow without risking Rain ninja feeling a spike in chakra. As he moved he felt nothing out of the ordinary.

'Perhaps chasing Sasuke for so long has given me a bad case of paranoia.'

He was coming closer to the next patrol route. It was the last one between him and his goal so he decided to stop and feel out the place before he tried to infiltrate. He found another alleyway that would serve as cover for now. Sitting down in the doorway of what was sure to be an abandoned building, Naruto began to meditate. Stretching out his senses once more to see if there were any major chakra signatures nearby, he felt off again. As if a smaller chakra signature that had been still before, started moving quickly in his direction and suddenly vanished.

'It has been a while since I have been shadowed, but they knew I was looking out for something so they must be pretty good. I wonder who it is?'

Satisfied that the unknown follower would be too rattled at almost being noticed to do anything anytime soon, he began the first steps of a familiar process. Drawing in nature's power was a difficult feat in such an urban environment, however Naruto had trained for years at making the tapping into natural energy an activity that was almost as second nature as breathing. He had become so proficient at it that Lord Fukasaku was convinced that if Naruto continued to master the practice, then it would only be decades before he could collect and balance natural energy while moving around, even if it was only slow simple movements. It was an interesting sentiment since the toad sage had told him that such a feat was impossible when Naruto had first undergone training in the Sage Arts. In his present environment, it was a bit of a challenge to find a large enough supply of nature's secret power for him to use. But, for what he was doing, he didn't need much.

He did not know how long it took. While meditating in such a way, time was difficult to judge. Moments that felt like hours would be seconds and there were times it seemed only a minute passed by but several hours had escaped him. In this particular instance what seemed to be an hour took about three minutes, and as the power of nature came into sync with his own strength new sensations arose. Now he could sense the chakra that surrounded him.

'Two guards near the north entrance of the tower, leaving the southern approach covered only when a patrol passes by. The next patrol is less than sixty meters out, but they are moving pretty quick for a patrol, so five minutes and I'll be clear. Now what about my tag along? On the move, slowly, strained focus, no significant chakra levels, suppressed to an unparalleled degree. Clearly a highly skilled sensory type, but they seem to be ducking patrols as well. An unwelcome guest like myself I guess, but why would they follow me?'

Coming to the only conclusion that he could at the moment, Naruto prepared for a quick and silent infiltration. Either the individual was far too curious, or their purpose meant him no harm. By his estimate on their chakra levels they were no real threat. What had him truly worried was that their chakra, even though it was difficult to tell since it was being expertly suppressed, it felt slightly familiar. He shrugged it off and moved with great haste for the interior of Pein's tower.

It was easy hopping a barbed wire fence. One controlled burst of a small amount of chakra and it was cleared, and after that it was a quick sprint to entrance of the building. Nothing flashy, and no jutsu. Just a simple and clean infiltration. Naruto walked his way through what could only be described as the lobby. There were three bodies arranged in a glass enclosing, upon a bed of flowers, and they seemed to defy death and decay. It was almost as if they were sleeping. Naruto was unsure as to how this was possible, but decided not to question it.

He approached the one in the middle. He wore a black cloak adorned with the image of red clouds. It contrasted his pale skin, yet it managed to match his still red hair. His eyes were closed, and his face seemed to be about as sickly as the day that he died.

"Nagato," Naruto breathed. He found his voice was slightly shaky.

"I am sorry it took me so long to pay you a visit, but things have been kind of crazy lately. Since I saw you last, the war has ended. We won, but there was a great cost to pay. So many people died."

Naruto remembered what he told Nagato he would do. He had said that he would find a way to end the hatred that continued the cycle of violence in the shinobi world. He had basically made a promise that would usher in a new age of peace.

"I haven't done it yet," Naruto started. "I still don't know how to end all of the hatred. There is peace for now, the pain that everyone suffered from the war is what is maintaining the peace. It is just like you said it would be, the pain of war is so fresh in everyone's minds that nobody wishes to engage ever again, but like you knew, like I know, this peace won't last. The Tailed Beasts will return. Even though the ten-tails was revived it was always unbalanced because it didn't have all of the Eight or Nine Tails chakra. So before it was destroyed, the imbalance forced it apart once more."

Naruto had spent years studying the sealing techniques of his clan, and of his father. He did it because he wanted to help Hinata safely remove the curse seal of her clan. He was close to achieving that, and had actually become quite skilled in the art of countering other sealing techniques in the process. However, his study of the sealing arts led to a study of the tailed beasts. He had learned that without a host the tailed beasts were primal creatures of untold power. They would roam the earth doing as they pleased, no intelligence, only instinct and rage. This, however, led to death and violence between them and the people their pleasure tended to harm.

"When they return, the only way I know to properly deal with them is to seal them within another host, but I fear this would only fuel the cycle of hatred. I remember how they treated me, and it wouldn't have taken much to make me become the demon they thought I was. I don't want to force anyone to bear the burden I have lived with. Nobody should be forced to live alone."

Naruto had several discussions on the topic with the various Kage of all of the Five great nations, and while they were not entirely concerned with finding a proper host, they were concerned with how the power would be equally divided. In the end, even after fighting and dying together, people always seemed entirely self-serving.

"I just can't help but wonder what you would do. My idea was to create an organization like the Akatsuki so the jinchūriki would be independent of any one village, and at the same time answerable to all. They laughed about it. They called me naïve. They called me an idealist. They said it was impossible. Gaara thought the idea had merit, but was also concerned with how this organization would be policed. I just wonder what you would do in my stead. I can't help but think that it should be you here, and me there."

Naruto was sick. Down in the very depths of his soul he was tired of everything that had been thrown his way. It was always a crisis, always a threat, and it was always him that had to save the day. There were fewer and fewer reasons to persevere anymore. All of the things that had kept him going over the years were slowly fading away. One of them backed out of his life, another lie dead, and the other was a chair and a hat that he was not certain he wanted anymore. He placed the flowers at the foot of Nagato's final resting place, and stepped back to get a look of the three life-long friends who had Jiraiya as their Sensei.

"I am beginning to think I might have lied to you the day we spoke. I feel the hatred running deep through my heart again. After what Sasuke did, I am not certain if I am doing this for justice or if I just want his blood. I told Kakashi that I wanted Sasuke to pay for his crimes, but I have had too much time to think about how those crimes have hurt me and everyone else I care for. I just don't know how I can do this anymore."

Naruto sighed, trying to think of what he meant by that. To any bystander it might have sounded like he was suicidal, but he wasn't. That wouldn't solve any problems, it never does. It only ever causes more pain. Kakashi was always adamant about that. After all, his dad's suicide was something that left him a scarred and broken man. It was always something he had to overcome in every aspect of his life. Naruto knew that there were too many people looking to him as a friend, as a mentor, and as a leader for him to even think about something so foolhardy.

"I don't think I will ever be able to end the cycle of hatred. I don't think I will ever be able to be this 'child of prophesy'. How could I?"

"How?" Naruto simply stated after a long period of silence. "How could I ever lead this world in an age of peace, when my heart has known nothing but war and chaos? How could I ever accomplish that?"

"You are an Uzumaki, you do what we always do. You keep your word and never give up." A voice answered the question that he believed to have only fallen on dead ears.

'It seems my shadow had no ill will after all.'

He turned to meet this new voice. She stood just over five feet with a head of bright red hair, and eyes that matched the color. They burned with an intensity that Naruto had not seen in a long time. Her pale skin was covered by a purple shirt, and black skirt, and a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

"So you were the one following me. I know I have seen you before, but I don't think I ever got your name."

"Karin," she replied, "I was one of the ninja that Sasuke recruited so he could get his revenge on Itachi."

"Yeah, I remember you now. He almost killed you, but Sakura was able to heal your injuries. So why were you following me? Trying to let him know where I am?" Naruto asked as a lame excuse for interrogation.

"No, I don't work for him anymore," she answered curtly.

"I was just asking, no need to be rude," he replied appearing to be put off with sarcasm oozing off his words.

"I will act however I want, thank you very much. I was here to give you some information, but I don't think I will anymore," Karin answered back folding her arms in front of her chest and turning her head in frustration.

"That seems kind of harsh," Naruto said playfully. Something about her just seemed rather innocent and incredibly familiar. 'Must be that childish attitude of hers, it almost reminds me of Sakura. She goes from comforting, to angry in a heartbeat,' he reasoned to himself.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't assume things. Especially about people you don't know," She pouted.

"Well, I am sorry. You mentioned that I was an Uzumaki, and that I should do what we always do. Are you an Uzumaki as well?"

"Not in name, but by blood I am. My father was not and I bear the name of his family. My mother, though, always spoke of her heritage and her clan."

"I see. I will take your advice. I won't give up just yet," Naruto said with a calm assurance.

"Good. Now if you promise to be nice I might just share what I know about Sasuke with you."

"You know where he is?" Naruto said with shock written on his face.

"Not exactly, but I know what he has been up to lately."

"Really? Please you have to tell me! Whatever he has planned I have to stop him!"

"I have been hiding out in the village ever since Sasuke left to try and discover if he was somehow controlling the new leader. As things turn out, he isn't," as she said this a rather audible sigh escaped Naruto. He felt relief knowing his rival was not the leader of a ninja village, even if it would have been only by proxy.

"Well that's good news I guess. It would have been nice if he was though. After all, since I am already here I could get to him quicker, but it's a good thing he doesn't have any army of ninja to command."

"That is where you are wrong, to a degree at least. He is gathering an army. He has been clearing out all of the old Uchiha munitions storehouses gathering weapons and supplies for his army."

"What? Who would join him? The Rain might, but no ninja have left the country since the war. No other village has any love for the Uchiha, and the rest of them don't have the strength to be any real threat to the Leaf," Naruto was at a loss. There was no explanation for Sasuke to gather supplies for an army if there was no actual army that required supplying.

"I don't really know much about this army of his, but either he has one somewhere or he will be able to build one quickly as soon as he is ready. He knows you are looking for him."

"I haven't heard anything but the faintest of rumors since I left home, so I figured he is covering his tracks well. How do you know so much though?" Naruto asked quizzically.

"I have tracked him for a few months now. Until I followed him here that is," she answered.

"You must have a huge sensory range! I could probably pinpoint a fly hovering around the Inuzuka kennels from anywhere in the Leaf village with my Sage techniques, but even I haven't gotten a trace of Sasuke's presence," Naruto never could help his excitement when it came to ninja techniques. He was eager to learn, to push his limits, and test himself against those who were among the best. Karin was recruited by Sasuke expressly for her sensory skill, and knowing Sasuke that meant that she was best sensor Orochimaru had, and perhaps the best sensor Sasuke had ever seen.

"It wasn't too long since he left," she said as her eyes trailed off searching around avoiding his face.

"How long ago?" Anticipation filled Naruto's mind, but his voice displayed none of what he felt. It was almost as if fate had brought him to this place.

'Damn it Neji! I don't believe in this fate crap. Why is it that there is always something that seems destined to happen?' Naruto thought, aggravated that even in death Neji just had to be right.

"About two months ago. I don't know why he came here, but he didn't stay long; only a few weeks at most. I stayed on the outskirts of the village and tracked his movements while he was here. He came to the memorial. I don't know why, but he left this." She extended her hand. It held a single piece of parchment folded in half a few times over. Naruto reached out and grabbed it. "I assume that he left it for you."

"Thank you." He said as he unfolded the simple paper. The words were neat, clean, and direct. It gave its message, made its point, and abruptly ended. It was very much a description of the man who wrote them.

_In 6 months meet me at the place where all things must end. There, the fate of the Leaf will be decided once_ more. The written words spun inside Naruto's mind as he tried to decipher their meaning._  
_

"Cryptic as ever, at least that much hasn't changed." Naruto mumbled to himself.

"You have to stop him Naruto," Karin said with tears streaming down her face. A single hand gripped her shirt near the collar.

"Don't worry I will," He responded simply his deep blue eyes meeting her crimson.

"He, he won't stop with your home," tears poured out in a steady stream as she tried to speak evenly but she was clearly having a difficult time keeping herself together.

"If you don't stop him, he would see the world burn just on a whim," Naruto could see truth in her eyes. Truth and greif. If this woman was like any of the others Sasuke had encountered in his life, then she developed strong romantic feeling for the last Uchiha. Even if that wasn't the case, then she was worried about the implications of Sasuke being allowed to do as he wished.

"I will stop him. He won't continue on like this. One way or another, I will end him." Naruto said with a determination that he hadn't voiced in months. Seeing her cry like Sakura had reminded him of why he spent years hunting his old teammate down. He didn't want to kill Sasuke after all, Naruto just couldn't muster that kind of anger right now. He would rather help his friend back into the light. He would rather see his brother atone for his sins, but he would not deceive himself anymore. He was prepared, mentally, emotionally, and physically to kill his friend in order to save his home and the people he loved most. He knew that Sasuke would not back down, and when he forced Naruto's hand to act, his hand would not hesitate to strike down the crazed avenger.

"Please, be careful. I have seen him grow into the monster he is. He is willing to kill his allies to achieve his goal, and his power is unprecedented," she said wiping the tears from her eyes. "You are the only one who can stop him now. You cannot fail."

"I don't plan on it. Now I know where he is going to be and when he's going to be there. When I see him, I'll be ready for anything. You should get out of here while you can," Naruto declared as he prepped himself to leave.

"Good luck," and with that she leapt away.

"Nagato," he started turning to face the corpse of the man who was once his enemy, and for a fleeting moment a true friend. "I will keep true to my word. I think once this is over I will be able to bring peace to this world. Once this is over I might finally have peace in my heart."

With his mission on locating Sasuke now complete he simply had to play the waiting game. He closed his eyes and tapped into the power of the Nine Tailed Fox that resided inside of him.

'I think I will go train some with the Chief on Mount Myōboku. He should be able to teach me how to use Sensei's sword.'

'**With four months of training you should be able to use it without cutting off any of your own limbs,**' The voice of the great beast replied. Naruto still found it slightly ironic that he not only made peace with Kurama but had complete trust in the demon that was once locked inside of him.

'Smart ass,' Naruto thought with a grin.

'**Are you going to need me to fight with you like we did against Madara? It has been a long time since you faced Sasuke in combat and he is no push over,**' the great fox asked, clearly ignoring Naruto's teasing.

'Nah, if it's good with you I need to do this on my own. Besides I don't want to risk the chance that Sasuke could use his Sharingan to take control of you. We kind of got lucky that didn't happen in our fight against Madara and his little boyfriend.'

'**You may be right on that. Using my power might put us at risk. He did manage to suppress my chakra with his eyes once before many years ago. Nevertheless, I'll be here to assist you as much as I am able when the time comes.**'

Just as the feet of the first few Rain ninja hit the ground near the memorial shrine, Naruto was gone in a flash and far beyond the village gates before a general alarm could be raised.


	4. Hopeful Nights

**A message from your author...**

**Thanks for reading and doubly so for those who have left reviews. Special props to sumtyms for being 1st and MariSkep; I rather appreciated your thoughts on the ending. I should have finished fine tuning this thing already, but alas times are busy. I will say that I have nearly completed the first chapter in another Naruto fan fiction that I have been cooking up and story mapping for the past few months. It will be a significantly longer AU kind of deal. As I get further along I'll release a teaser here as a chapter 9 in this story. To answer an anon review I grouped this story's character filter based on the characters whose perspectives tell the story not by "pairings." Sorry if that throws you off or gets your hopes for the story squashed. I don't really know all of the appropriate procedures for posting. Kind of new. So if that is a serious issue let me know and I'll change it up. Didn't mean to ramble, enjoy.  
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Hinata stared out at the night sky. As always it was a wonder to behold. The moon was bright and full, and its light radiating. The silver gleam was bright enough to bring light to the entire village, but it was not a harsh light as was the sun's. On this particular night, the sky was clear and free. There were dozens of stars that were dancing in the black of the night sky. While not as many were as visible as there were out in the wilderness, there were plenty of constellations to admire.

"Naruto," she breathed out softly, "stay safe, and come home soon."

She had spent the past ten months trying to busy herself so she was not constantly thinking about the love of her life wandering across the world. She helped her father in the work of the clan, but understood her role was never one of an heiress. That job would be her sister's. Frankly, after the death of Neji and the banishment of the Cage Bird Seal her desire to lead the clan disappeared. So she entrusted the clan's future to her sister's leadership. Still, in spite of all that she did to occupy herself, she would stare out at the moon nightly and offer up a simple prayer that Naruto would be safe and his quest would end soon. It was the night sky that made that connection possible. No matter where she was and no matter where he was, both would be under the same moon, and the same stars. Being beneath the same canopy of the heavens allowed her the simple pleasure of still feeling close to the man even though they had not set eyes on each other for the better part of a year.

Much had changed during the ten months since Sakura died. In fact, Hinata was quite certain that the village might never be the same place in her absence. Tsunade had been affected greatly. Her prized student and her only true successor had fallen long before her time should have come. Hinata saw the change that it caused both her leader, and Shizune, and was worried that the two of them might be emotionally lost forever if Naruto did not come home soon.

Ino had been dealing with the issue differently than Hinata would have suspected. Where her Hokage had seemingly lost the sparkle in her eyes, Ino had developed an iron clad resolve to pick up where her friend had left off. Ino threw herself into her training both in her clan's techniques and in her training in the medical field. It was no real secret that Ino did not have the same degree of chakra control that is required of medical ninja of Sakura's caliber, but it did not deter her from developing the skills to rival Shizune's medical prowess. What startled everyone was when Ino began to do case studies of debilitating mental illnesses, and through techniques she developed from her clan and her medical training she was healing mental conditions long thought untreatable.

Ino had also been spending plenty of time rebuilding a friendship with Hinata, and Hinata was beginning to feel quite comfortable calling the blonde a dear friend. They spent many days together talking about life, work, their families, struggles, and love. The results were interesting, and Hinata had been left with a greater confidence that Naruto indeed loved her. On the flip side she also felt greater remorse for the notion that she had let her own insecurities about the relationship between Naruto and Sakura drive her to breaking up with him. She could remember the night when she had made that decision.

_Stepping through the gates after a long and uneventful patrol mission, Hinata's pale eyes looked toward her teammates to see what they might do._

_"The hour is getting late," Shino said breaking the silence, "We will make our report to the Hokage in the morning. I will see you then. Good job, and get some rest." His brief and monotone words would sound curt and uncaring to those who did not know the silent, but thoughtful man that Shino was. With a nod of his head he was off._

_Turning to Kiba, and his faithful hound, Hinata squeaked "What are you and Akamaru going to do Kiba?" Normal people would go to bed at this hour, but Hinata knew better 'He loves the feelings of freedom and purpose that long patrol missions give, and he won't want to go home to the responsibilities of his clan just yet,' she thought knowing her teammate and brother-in-arms._

_"Eh, did you say something Hinata? I figured being with a guy like Naruto you would have had to start speaking up a little for him to hear you talk over the sound of his brain rattling around in his skull."_

_Hinata knew what his words meant also. Though it sounded as if he had been ignoring her, and then teasing both her and her boyfriend, she knew this was his way of having some fun with a good friend. With a smile at the man she waited for his answer._

_"I dunno, I might go see if I can get some food. Or maybe go drop by Ayame's place and see what she is up to. What do ya think Akamaru?"_

_A bark of affirmation came from the large dog. The idea of visiting the ramen mistress seemed to appeal to him, but only Kiba really knew. As she recalled, Hinata and Naruto had been somewhat responsible for fostering the relationship between the two. The initial idea was presented by chance, but the ongoing prodding and urging Kiba to move toward a deeper relationship was very much a game of meddling._

_Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Lee had been selected to escort the Daimyo and his convoy throughout the Land of Fire partly to help give relief to some of the villages damaged in the war, partly to show off the best and the brightest of shinobi the Leaf had, and also to reassure the people of their safety and security. By chance Ayame had met up with the group while she was out gathering new ingredients and recipes to put to use, as well as rounding out her training in the culinary arts. It was because she knew Naruto on a first name basis, and had impressed the Daimyo with one of the finest meals he had outside of the capital, she was allowed to join the convoy for the rest of their trip. This greatly pleased Ayame because she was frequently fixing meals for the Daimyo himself, and was learning first hand from the greatest chefs in the land. It also greatly pleased Naruto because it meant he could get his favorite ramen while on a mission._

_While they were returning home there was a small mishap with bandits attacking. Hinata never really knew how serious it was because Ayame talked about it as if the bandits numbered in the thousands, and were all as skilled as samurai. Lee stated that it was a most youthful exercise to begin the day. Shikamaru simply said it was troublesome. Naruto and Kiba said it was no big deal, and talked about it like they had fun during the experience. Nevertheless from the details she gathered, Ayame panicked and ran away from the overall protection of the convoy. Bandits chased her and cornered her, and just when all seemed like she was doomed, Kiba rescued her. Kiba never shared the intimate details of what happened between the young man and slightly older chef. However, whatever Kiba did left Ayame swooning over her hero._

_'You really do love her don't you Kiba,' Hinata thought warmly as she shared a smile with her friend as he and his companion walked away. 'Perhaps I too will go visit the one I love.'_

_With that Hinata began to move her way toward Naruto's home. After the village had been rebuilt, Tsunade insisted upon rebuilding the home of the Fourth Hokage to its original specifications. When he returned home from the war, Naruto was simply handed the keys. In spite of the fact that his father and mother's house was a modest home considering their fame and importance within the village, Naruto complained that it was too much and he didn't need a place as big as that. Tsunade, of course, insisted that the hero of the war would not live in the tiny apartment that he had lived in since the days of his youth. She continued by convincing him that as he got older he would need the space for the day he had his own kids to look after. Naruto, being obsessed with all aspects of ninja life, misunderstood Tsunade entirely and was thrilled by the prospect of having a genin team of his own._

_As she approached the house she saw the lights on. 'I hope he isn't overworking himself again. I told him that the branch families are more than willing to wait for him to finish in his own time. I guess not even sleep will stop him from accomplishing something he has set his mind to.'_

_She heard voices as she walked up toward the door. One voice was male, rough yet warm and comforting, clearly Naruto's. The other was softer, more feminine sounding, curiosity got the better of Hinata as she tried to identify the second owner of the second voice. She spotted an open window and her heart was overflowing with worry as she saw the pink haired woman standing behind the couch with her hands rubbing Naruto's shoulders as he poured himself into the scrolls splayed out on the table in front of him._

_'No need to panic. It's not like I caught them doing anything I would consider to be beyond the scope of their friendship. I have helped Kiba and Shino relax sore muscles the same way once or twice,' Hinata reasoned to herself._

_"I just don't understand it," Naruto growled his frustration quite clear. "My dad was clearly a freaking genius, 'cause I just don't understand how I am messing this up."_

_"Still working on the Cage Seal Reversal?" Sakura asked the obvious question teasingly._

_"Yeah. I know how it works in theory, but everything I have tried so far has not been working. Either my counter formula destroys the seal and takes what has been sealed away with it, or the seal remains intact. In theory, the formula I have done should work."_

_"You are just testing on scrolls and chakra that has been sealed away, the conditions aren't the same," Sakura pointed out trying a bit more seriously to be helpful. She had a working knowledge of the Sealing Arts, but her own Yin Seal was not a complicated seal in and of itself._

_"It shouldn't matter with sealing though. I know with medicine you have to try and duplicate the live conditions to get accurate predictions with your testing, but for sealing the only things that really matter is the way the sealing matrix is designed, and how chakra is applied to the construction of the seal. For any one formula there are countless wrong combinations, and only one that will give me the result that I want. It's like looking for a specific needle in a stack of needles," Naruto pouted. He was never the kind of guy with book smarts, and had really pushed himself beyond what even he thought his limits were in his study of sealing techniques._

_"I was really hoping for a breakthrough tonight," Naruto continued as he relaxed into the couch. "I seriously thought I was on to something this time." He held his head in his hands, looking like he was trying to keep a headache at bay._

_Sakura continued to work over his shoulders, "Maybe you should just turn in for the night. Get some sleep and maybe the answer will just come to you later," the woman said offering advice, "That's what I do when I'm stuck with some of my research in the lab."_

_"I can't just yet. I can't keep Hinata and her clan waiting. They are counting on me to do this, and it means so much to her. I just can't let her down," Naruto said with his fiery resolve giving him strength as he dug back into his work. Hinata could feel its warmth as she looked on in wonder as she thought 'That is just one of the many reasons why I love you Uzumaki Naruto.'_

_"Hinata should consider herself lucky that she has a guy who would so selflessly do anything for her," the medic said in a seemingly nonchalant manner._

_'I do Sakura. I am the luckiest girl in the world because I have him with me,' Hinata thought as if addressing the comment directly. She was still debating whether to actually make her presence known at this point. It was a bit surprising that two experienced ninja hadn't already noticed that she was there. Hinata decided that she may have to work with Naruto on his situational awareness. This study of his seemed to give him a sort of tunnel vision._

_"What do you mean by tha, Ow! Hey watch it that really hurt." Naruto whined pitifully. Hinata had to stifle a laugh as she knew he was not hurt in the least, but giving Sakura a hard time._

_"Sit still! You are the one who decided to have the Nine Tails hold back on using his healing powers for anything non-critical. So you either have to learn to deal with some pain or quite trying to spar with Tsunade and me at the same time," retorting with an ultimatum Sakura continued her own task ignoring her teammate's complaints._

_"That's not fair! I have to practice Sage Mode sometime or I'll start getting rusty. Its not like I can do that with just anyone, and Kakashi-sensei was on a mission. Besides, the only reason I did was because you kept bugging about how the ability is shortening my lifespan. So you could at least try to be gentle," Naruto grumbled under his breath probably hoping Sakura wouldn't use his response as a reason to be a bit more rough in her handiwork. "What did you mean by what you said a minute ago?"_

_"I just meant that Hinata is lucky to have you." Naruto was still studying and focused on the task at hand, but Hinata could see the look in Sakura's eyes. She did not need to use her all seeing eyes to know that the look on Sakura's face was one of longing, and restrained desire. "There is so much about you to love Naruto, and you would bring any girl you choose to be with a lifetime of happiness."_

_Heart rate increased, breathing irregular, Hinata's thoughts were drowning her mind in every worst case scenario that could happen right now. It was so obvious, so blunt, so abundantly clear that Sakura was deeply in love with Naruto. Ino had warned her, this was coming. Ino had told her that she needed to sit down with Sakura and talk to the pink haired medic about her long term desires for her relationship with Naruto, but she wrote it off because both had known how long she had feelings for the man. _

_'Surely Naruto knows what she is hinting at, he has to know. He wouldn't just go for this. Would he?'_

_"Hey, I thought I already explained all of this to you just a second ago," Naruto began._

_Breathlessly Hinata awaited the response of her life long crush. The angle was not one where she could see the exchange, but she knew that his cerulean orbs bore deeply into her emerald ones. She couldn't see his expression, but she knew this was serious._

_"It doesn't matter what happens. My feelings will never change. I may wind up with Hinata and you could end up with Sasuke, but nothing will change between us as far as I am concerned. I will never forget you, I will never leave you behind, and I will always fight to keep you in my life. I love you far too much to just let you go now," Naruto said firmly._

_It was at that moment Hinata's world silently shattered. She didn't remember leaving the front porch, the walk home, and she certainly could not remember how she had found herself laying crumpled up on top of her bed the next morning. The how's, the why's, and the various other questions she may have had about the conversation she overheard did not matter anymore. She had heard the worst of it in her mind. Naruto loved Sakura, and that would never change._

'_I am only standing in the way of his happiness.' Hinata, convinced of this though, mustered up the resolve to say something she would have never dreamed of._

Hinata had made what she could only consider to be a mistake the next day, but it felt necessary at the time. Her love for Naruto was not so shallow that she was not willing to give him up if it meant he would be happy. It was never an issue of trust, Hinata knew well that Naruto was loyal to his dying breath. She had just felt that the emerald eyed woman was someone she could not be compared to in Naruto's eyes. It was, after all, common knowledge that Naruto had fawned over the pink haired girl since the time they were in the Academy much like how she had her eyes set on him.

The break up with Naruto was difficult, and awkward. It killed her to utter those words, and it broke her further to see him stand there and take them so coldly, showing no emotion at all. He offered little resistance, and only asked for a reason why. Hinata had been hesitant to offer one, and simply stated that it was for the best. The awkwardness set in after that and lasted for months. He was more quiet and reserved around her than he had ever been. It was the silence that she received when he was around that hurt her the most.

Sakura tried to explain the situation. On several occasions she came to the defense of the relationship between her lifelong friend and the blue haired beauty. She had tried to tell Hinata that Naruto said what he did because Sakura had admitted, just moments earlier, to actively distancing herself from her teammate and their friendship. She tried to point out that she and Naruto could never be so long as the Sasuke affair was left unsettled. She argued that even if she wanted to pursue a relationship with him, the undeniable fact Naruto loved Hinata would make that impossible. Sakura desperately tried to explain that the love Naruto held for her was of a purely platonic nature. Hinata had already convinced herself that it didn't matter what they thought, their emotions betrayed their words, and she stood in their way. Even though Hinata had broken up with Naruto so he could pursue his childhood crush, she had held out hope that Naruto would be running back to her.

This never happened, the nature of the break up and Naruto's long standing abandonment issues ensured that it would not occur. Many people would try to talk both halves of the former pair to working things out. Ino, on the other hand, was not as noble in her approach toward the situation as Sakura had been. The meddling blonde only exacerbated the matter by going behind the scenes to try and work the two teammates into situations where some romance could blossom. While Hinata was far too cordial to ever confront the woman, it still infuriated Hinata that Ino would go to such lengths to extinguish all hopes of a future with Naruto. Much to Ino's own frustration nothing came of her efforts.

Guided only by the light of the moon Hinata sank into the warmth of her bed. She reached over to the night stand next to her bed and grabbed the note that rested upon it. The note had been discovered the night Naruto had left the village soon after returning home from dinner with Ino. The note was unsigned, but Hinata knew who it was from. Naruto's handwriting was easily identifiable to her now. The note itself was simple and straight forward, but the words expressed such hope and promise that it warmed the soul, much like the man who wrote it.

She thumbed over the edge of the folded paper once or twice before finally opening it. She closed her eyes briefly, and read the contents once more. She smiled as she thought about what he had said.

'_Hinata, I know this will be difficult for you, but I must fulfill my promises. You know me and my nindo, I always keep my word. I promise I will return. I do love you, and nothing will change that. I will come back for you, and when I do I promise I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much.'_

With that as the last though in her mind she folded the note and returned it to its original place. Her last thoughts dwelt on her beloved as she began to blissfully slip out of conscious. Her final thoughts of the evening became dreams. Dreams of her holding Naruto close, clinging to the one she loved most, just as she had years ago.


	5. The Nightmare

All he could hear was the splash of the shallow water as his feet broke its continually disturbed surface. He was at a severe disadvantage here, and he knew it. His lungs burned with each breath, and the muscles in his legs ached from the strain he had been placing on them. Things had gone south, and were only getting worse as each second drug on. He needed just a moment. That was all, just a brief respite to catch his breath, find his center, and collect more natural energy to enter into Sage Mode once more. This fight needed to end, and it needed to end now. The question was how exactly.

Then he heard it. It was subtle, but given the moment his senses were sharpened and the hissing noise was so distinct it was unmistakable. By some second nature, or sixth sense he knew where the attack was coming. Jumping as high as his legs would allow him to defy gravity's pull he twisted in air as he allowed himself to become parallel to the ground. The corkscrew that he had resembled was made necessary when he saw the pair of snakes passing just inches above his waist with fangs to bare. A kunai knife shot from the spring loaded holster on his wrist and fell deftly into his hand. Continuing in the twisting motion of his body his hand brought the edge of the small blade to meet with the necks of both snakes, slicing through them cleanly. When the rest of his body was oriented toward the ground again he finished off a third snake similarly.

His feet met the ground and as soon as they did he was running as fast as those feet would carry him, almost having never broke his stride. He heard the telltale laughter of his assailant echo in the shadows of the hallway.

"Well done boy. You have indeed progressed since we last fought. You are much more in control of your other half Naruto," his voice called out smoothly.

'Arrogant bastard! He's been toying with me since the start of this fight. Where is Sai already? He should have been back by now. Damn it!'

"I don't have any more time for you Orochimaru! I have to find Sasuke!" Naruto yelled back in response.

At that moment more snakes shot toward his face seemingly created by the darkness that impaired his vision. With a leaping dive he decapitated one of the snakes, and allowed two to pass over him. He tucked his head and landed in a roll. Coming to his feet and skidding to a stop he turned to meet the other two snakes, who were already closing in on him having launched a new attack. Maneuvering the kunai so he could kill serpents again was a relatively simple feat. He turned back around with barely enough time to divert the blade of a long sword so that it passed by the side of his head rather than through it. For what he hoped would be the last time of his life, he came eye to eye with the mad scientist of a ninja that was Orochimaru.

'When did he get in front of me? I hate these bases of his, all the hallways look the same and I never know where I am.'

The snake holding the blade in its mouth retracted back toward the mouth of the snake like man. With the sword falling into his opponent's hands Naruto could only mentally cringe at how disgusting the image was, and that was forever left in his mind.

"My dear Naruto, will you never learn? Sasuke doesn't want to play with you anymore. His ambitions are so much higher than the Leaf village. Dear boy, you could have been something truly great. I wish I had seen it when we first met. I thought you were just a fool who had no right to call yourself a shinobi, but it turns out that you were merely the perfect canvas. You were a masterpiece, all you needed was an artist to paint you. If I had seen it then I would have taken you to be my disciple, but fate wouldn't have it that way I suppose. Instead you have slaved yourself to the Will of Fire, just like Sarutobi-sensei, and just like that fool Jiraiya."

"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Naruto growled. His anger was already past the boiling point, and had he not already mastered the Nine Tails chakra, the cloak of the beast would have enveloped him. "He was your teammate, a brother in arms, the only true friend you ever had, and you treat him worse than the dirt you walk on! How dare you!" Naruto was visibly shaking. The only reason he hadn't charged in and attacked the man was the constant reminder to himself that to do so would be the death of him.

"Come now Naruto. I thought it was quite a sentimental moment; the touching reunion of master and student. The way you fought each other, it was quite the performance from the both of you. To think you completely mastered the Nine Tails chakra to such a degree, and it took every ounce of my skill and concentration to hold Jiraiya to my will without making him a mindless drone. I was simply amazed when you managed to come up with a counter seal and release Jiraiya's soul from my grasp."

"You soulless monster! I will kill you for what you did to him!" Naruto had been goaded enough. He was running out of time, out of options, and out of chakra. He had no hope of beating Orochimaru without the use of the Demon Fox's chakra, and he had already tapped out the Fox for a while just to keep the resurrected pervert from killing him. He needed to either distract him long enough to slip into Sage Mode, or long enough to find Sai and Sakura and get out. Fortunately the hand seal for the jutsu he was about to use could provide him with both if he was lucky, and he was always lucky.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as the narrow corridor was filled with smoke. He never really understood why he felt compelled to scream the name of all of his techniques almost every time he used one. Then again every other ninja he had seen or fought did the same thing. While it never made any sense to him for an elite stealth based soldier to do such a thing, Naruto never felt the need to break the precedent that had been set. When the smoke cleared there were quite possibly hundreds of copies of Naruto surrounding the lone legend.

"Hmmm. Interesting," was all that Naruto could hear as he imagined the twisted man plastering that all too familiar crazed sadistic smile on his face at the prospect of testing his wits against a few hundred angry combatants. Naruto slipped into a room in a hallway that intersected the one he had previously left.

'Okay, gotta be quick. I won't be able to maintain Sage Mode too long with all of those clones dispersing constantly. I just need to find Sai and Sakura. Maybe by the time I'm done Orochimaru will come looking for me and I can get in a cheap shot and take him down before he can absorb my senjutsu like he did the last time. I know he is a genius, but I am seriously starting to believe that he really could defeat a small nation all by himself,' Naruto thought as he settled into a well practiced meditative pose.

Becoming one with nature was always a thrilling experience. It sent a tingle down his spine when he could immediately feel the presence of every living thing around him. Getting over the initial thrill he refocused on the tasks at hand. First checking the immediate threat that was the Snake Sannin. 'Damn, he has already taken out about half of all those shadow clones.' Next to find Sai, who should have been backing him up right now. 'Outside, 5 kilometers away, and moving towards me. Both sword boy, and the insane orange seem to be down for the count. Sai should be at the entrance to the base in a few minutes judging by his speed.' Checking the progress Orochimaru has made he began to feel frustrated that about 60 of the few hundred shadow clones remained. 'How could one man be so good?' Focusing again he began to search for the next largest source of chakra nearby. Finding it and the evil taint that was upon it he honed in. 'Sasuke, and he is fighting. He is calm and in control, crazed and certifiable, but in control. The one he is fighting is fading, loosing chakra fast, injured pretty badly, and hiding from him. Sakura, please hold on, just hold on until I get there.'

He felt funny, and not the same funny feeling one would get from a good joke. This kind of funny was more like the feeling that one might have when trying to walk while both legs are asleep. It didn't take him long to realize that this was the earliest onset of him losing control of the natural energies that were key to a Sage's power. While this had only happened to Naruto one time when he was not training in the Sage Arts, he remembered the final results were both amphibious and fatal. The last time he did this was on purpose because his chakra was being drained one of the many Paths of Pein. 'Oh crap! How do I stop the process! What a freakin' sucky way to die. I can see it now! Kiba would have it carved on my gravestone. Uzumaki Naruto: Turned into a frog in Orochimaru's closet. Okay think, think, think. Somehow I need to expel all of the Sage chakra. Fukasaku knocked it out of me with that staff, but I don't have it. I wonder,' his thoughts trailed off as he formulated his desperate plan.

Throwing all of his eggs in one basket was reckless, and if he survived Sakura would beat him senseless for doing something so dangerous in the first place but he had nothing to lose and his life to retain. Focusing on what he wanted to he made a few swift hand seals and built up as much of his chakra as he could along with all of the destabilized Sage chakra. His eyes were closed in concentration, but had they been open he would have seen the very air displaced by the chakra swirling around him. Then he forced his chakra to act in a way that he had not tried since the day of his last Academy graduation exam.

Having completed the technique he kept his eyes forced closed trying to sense any imbalance in the natural energies that were present a moment ago, but he felt nothing. Rather, he felt exhausted, but he did not feel as if he were also turning into a toad. Opening his eyes he saw something he did not ever expect to see. There before him sat three perfectly created clones of himself. Not the tangible shadow clones he was so used to making, but the standard run of the mill illusionary doppelgangers. "Well, would you look at that! I actually made three passible clones of myself. All it took was a life death situation to motivate me, and some Sage chakra to stabilize the insane amount of chakra that I used to do it," Naruto said with a great feeling of satisfaction, and determining to show Iruka when he got back home.

'**If I wasn't so relieved you are still alive then I would try to tear you a new one for being so stupid,**' said a low rumble in the back of his mind.

'What? I had to find everyone else, and Sage Mode was the quickest way. Besides, using up most of my chakra doing the Clone Jutsu worked didn't it?' Naruto thought as a response to the Nine Tailed Fox trying to admonish him.

'**Yeah, but next time you want to do something stupid and potentially life ending do us both a favor and don't,**' the beast quipped.

'Sure thing fuzz ball. Now we gotta get a move on 'cause that snake knows where we are now, and Sakura won't last much longer by herself,' Naruto agreed. It was a bad idea to use Sage Mode with so many active clones, and one he won't be repeating any time soon.

'**I have rested long enough for you to use my chakra. It won't be much but you should have enough to use one really good attack on Orochimaru. If you make it count you might have enough to make it to Sakura and Sasuke,**' the voice of the beast quieted as Naruto prepared for combat.

'I will. Let's go.'

Stepping back into the hall was almost as dangerous as utilizing Sage Mode had been, as once more the famed criminal nearly pierced Naruto's face with a sword. The snake holding the blade in its mouth withdrew wildly toward its place of origin. Licking his lips after swallowing his summoned familiar Naruto saw his foe in a crouched position low to the ground his muscles coiled as a snake ready to strike. "Now now, whatever shall I do with you? I can't stretch this fight out for too much longer since you are almost at your limit, and I can't kill you because my precious Sasuke wants that honor for himself. It seems I am at an impasse."

'He can't kill me because Sasuke wants to? He thinks I'm at my limit too. He's so arrogant. I might just get one good shot in afterall. Come on you freak, bring that pretty face of yours just a little closer,' Naruto thought as he waited for Orochimaru's next move.

Sighing Orochimaru continued "I guess I'll just have to see how much fight you have left in you and hope that you survive," and with that he began his charge. With a blinding speed the distance between the mad man and the blonde was down to a few yards.

"You fought me without intent to kill, but I don't hold back," and with those words Naruto declared his intent. Bathing himself in the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox that dwelt within him he showed Orochimaru that in an instant the fight had shifted out of his favor. Wreathed in chakra that shone like the sun, Orochimaru had a look on his face that Naruto new to be one of cautious concern. Naruto was careful not to display the true extent of his powers in the Tailed Beast Form before his enemy by choosing to battle his Sensei moving throughout the woods surrounding the base, and ending within the belly of the Gourd Toad until he helped Jiraiya break free of Orochimaru's control. With millimeters until his enemies attack struck home, Naruto dodged the attack and moved behind the snake.

It was as if the world stood still when he moved at his highest speeds. Before Orochimaru could blink an arm of pure chakra grabbed hold of him and pushed him toward the wall at the end of the hallway. From his new position Naruto focused another two arms of chakra to help him manipulate the chakra massing in his hand. Swirling, rotating, and whistling like a fierce wind he formed one of the strongest attacks in his arsenal. The Rasenshuriken now completed he threw it toward his foe who remained pressed up against the wall struggling with all his might to break free.

"So he completed the Fourth's technique? Father and son, truly both were masterpieces, and to think it was that fool Jiraiya that made you," Orochimaru said to himself as the object of his demise drew near.

His attack made impact almost the instant he withdrew the constructed appendage. Not but a breath after, the ball of swirling wind chakra destabilized resulting in a massive release of energy. Infinite numbers of microscopic blades made of wind, cut into their target and everything within the blast radius. Deciding not to watch his attack finish Naruto began to move toward his teammates who were dancing to the tune death was playing. He could only pray that he could be there to stop that final note from ringing out.

'**You should make sure he is dead. You know he is a slippery one, and might still be alive. For someone of his skill, the time between you letting go of him and impact was more than enough to get away.**'

'I wouldn't be surprised if he survives. He was killed by Sasuke and sealed away by Itachi, but he is still alive and kickin' so I doubt I did him in. I just don't have time for him right now, and now that I'm using your chakra, he won't press his luck by fighting me anymore.'

Running faster than any eye could see he traversed the hallways heading toward his friends. The base itself was a labyrinth, and to those who were unfamiliar could easily lose themselves within it. He kept pressing on, the advantage of knowing where his destination was helped him keep focused despite the frustration of the winding passages and occasional dead ends. He found a passage that was led straight to an open doorway. The light at the end of the hall was so bright in the darkness that it prevented him from seeing what was beyond, but his senses knew that Sasuke and Sakura were there. Sasuke seemed gleeful. Sakura was in a near panic. The nine tails chakra began to recede just before he could make it to the door.

His eyes adjusted to the light, and once he could see properly again his world began to shatter. There she was, hunched over grasping the blade as it pierced her. A smirk was forming on Sasuke's face as Sakura coughed up blood. She whispered something that he could not hear, and Sasuke showed little reaction. Kicking her body to remove his sword Naruto ran to catch her before she hit the ground. Naruto couldn't help the tears that were forming in his eyes as he looked at her clinging to what life she had left. He looked back up at Sasuke seething with anger, and saw only a smile on the face of a man he once called a brother. It would not be obvious to many, but to Naruto he could see that Sasuke was favoring his left leg, his sword arm seemed to be swollen, and his offhand seemed to fall limp at his side. In spite of his calm demeanor Sasuke was in immense pain, and in as much shape to fight as Naruto was.

"Another time Naruto, another time," those were the only words that escaped Sasuke's lips as he took his leave.

No longer concerned he looked down at the face of the woman whom he had chased after for much of his childhood. Coughing as she spoke, "Naruto, I'm sorry. I did the best I could, but he wasn't even fighting me seriously."

"You have nothing to apologize for, I saw him before he left. You gave him hell!"

"Yeah, he paid for toying with me too much. I'm sorry I just wasn't strong enough."

"No, it's my fault I should have been here. I shouldn't have let you fight him alone. But it's over now, I'll get you back to the village. Tsunade can get you patched up again, and then we'll go find Sasuke and drag him back home. We'll do it together I promise. I'll make you happy I swear it."

"Nar," Again, blood spewed forth with a new series of coughs. Her eyes were becoming dull. They no longer shone like emeralds in the noon day sun, but instead they were becoming a lifeless green that seemed to kill the light that found them. "Naruto, this is it for me. I won't make it out of this one. I'm so sorry. I am losing too much blood, and Sasuke punctured my lung. I don't have much longer."

"Don't say that," Naruto gripped her as if holding her closer could protect Sakura from her quickly approaching fate. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I won't lose you. I can't lose you,"

"It's okay Naruto. I'm alright with this. I think I always knew this would be how it ended." He could see the tears. They were few, but they spoke of pain. Not a physical pain from the wounds she bore on her flesh, but the emotional wounds she bore in her heart. "I messed up big time. I was chasing after a dream. After the Forrest of Death I saw what Sasuke was, but because I loved him I wanted to save him from his darkness. I thought I could. Naruto, I don't want you to try and bring him home anymore. I don't want you to die, you don't need to push yourself so far for me. I'm just not worth suffering for."

"You are to me. I know you love him, and I know you always will but that won't stop me from trying to make you happy. I made a promise, and I always keep my promises," his words were coming between sobs. He needed to do something, anything. She was falling away and he couldn't catch her. He promised to fight to keep her in his life, and there she was giving up again.

Her hand rose shakily. It was clearly taking all of her strength just to bring her hand to touch his face. Naruto grabbed hold of it to keep it there. She was growing cold, so very cold. Life was fleeing her, and all he could do was watch. He was helpless, so helpless. All of the strength and power in the world and he could do nothing here but sit and watch her die. Naruto saw movement from the corner of his eye. So as to not draw attention to whomever might be sneaking up for an attack Naruto tilted his head in a way that brought Sakura's hand to his other cheek. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Sai, hanging back letting the two have privacy in their last moment together.

"Naruto, I want you to know that if it had been you who left the village instead of Sasuke I would have chased after you like you did him."

"I know Sakura," he stated. Though he may not have been the one her heart longed for, and though she would hit him and yell at him, Naruto knew that she cared about him. She cared about him from the depths of her heart, and the fact that she was using her last breaths to remind him of this spoke volumes. It showed that she was worried about him at this moment and in the time that is to come.

"I'm sorry I couldn't love you like you wanted. If I had tried a relationship with you, it would have been so much less than you deserve. My heart belongs to him, just as your heart belongs to her."

"I know, but she doesn't want me like that anymore," Naruto didn't really want to talk about her right now. One of his best friends was dying in his arms. Yet, he wasn't going to deny Sakura her last words. If she thought it was important, then he would listen.

"She does. She loves you so much. She broke up with you because she thought that she was holding you back. She thought that she was keeping you from being truly happy," the strength of her voice had left. Each word was weaker than the last, and she looked so pale. Naruto wiped away the blood that was left at her lips.

"I'm happy though. Even though it wasn't the way I wanted things to end, I still get to spend my last moments in the arms of a man who loves me dearly."

Naruto clutched her. He couldn't hold back tears, his teeth were clenched shut. The emotional turmoil of this moment was unbearable. He held his dying friend. Her life stolen by one he had lived protecting, someone he thought was a brother. He was unraveling. Her voice was trembling and faint, but he heard it. It was calling to him as his mind was edging toward the abyss.

"Naruto, make me one more promise," she whispered into his ear.

"Sure, whatever you want. It'll be the promise of a lifetime."

"Sai, make sure he keeps his word."

"Of course," Sai responded moving closer to the pair.

"Naruto, please do this for me." Slowly there was a shift in her. Her eyes changed. Her face took a different form. It was almost as if someone had replaced her head with the head of one of Naruto's toad summons, specifically Gamakichi. When this strange Sakura spoke it spoke with Gamakichi's voice "Naruto! Hey Naruto, you need to wake up Naruto!"

It stared into his eyes, and Naruto was disturbed. He looked over at Sai whose head resembled Gamatatsu, whining something about being hungry and forgetting to bring snacks. At this point Naruto had lost it. Then the world around him suddenly turned a deep orange color, and swiftly went dark. There was pressure on his entire body, and he was struggling to breathe. Then something kicked off of him and air was allowed into his lungs. Opening his eyes he saw the frog brothers sitting nearby.

He rose sharply "What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me Gamakichi!?" A finger extended pointing at the perpetrators.

"Oh lighten up Naruto. You've been asleep for most of the day. Training with my dad must have done a number on ya. Besides Pa wanted me to tell you that Ma is making dinner for us tonight," the great orange toad responded.

"Great," Naruto groaned. He enjoyed everything about being on Mount Myōboku except for the food.

"Yeah, it'll be amazing 'cause I'm starving," the large yellow toad replied oblivious to his friend's despair about the coming meal.

"You're always hungry. Anyway, I figured we could get one last round of training in tonight before you left tomorrow," The great orange toad said as he grasped the hilt of his large blade.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad," Naruto nodded in agreement. One last round with his friend didn't sound too bad.

"You've gotten pretty good with that toothpick of yours, after dinner we'll see just how good you are. No holding back," Gamakichi said with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"Sure thing Gamakichi. Let's get going then, you how Ma gets when we're late for dinner."

'Three more days, and I'll finally be able to put Sasuke behind me. I'll finally be able to move on.' Naruto thought reflecting on the task at hand as he walked beside the two great toads slowly hopping along the paths and winding trails of their home.


	6. Leaving Legacies

Tsunade stood overlooking the village as the dawns first light had just begun to peek over the horizon. It was a sight that normally would have stirred her soul and inspired her to do her job with joy, despite the annoyances that came with being a political figurehead in a military governmental system. Today there were no such feelings. Taking another swig from the bottle of sake in her hand she tried to numb the aching in her heart. It had been over a year since she lost two of the most important people to her. One was her apprentice and her true successor. Her life had been stolen away, killed in her prime. The other was a blonde haired mess of a man who was the sole reason she even came back to this village. He was God knows where doing God knows what.

Perhaps that wasn't entirely accurate. Although the weekly reports no longer came weekly, she still had an idea as to what Naruto was doing. This was deemed acceptable considering the messenger toad who normally delivered them had informed Tsunade that Naruto would be training for four months where the toads live. She also knew what was happening today. Today Naruto and Sasuke would square off at the Valley of the End. The fate of the village and the destinies of both men had played out there before. In both instances it was a fight to the death between an Uchiha and one who thought of him like a brother. It was always a battle of ideals.

'I never took Sasuke as the type who did things symbolically,' She thought as she let another gulp of alcohol past her lips.

She sighed as she thought about the man. Her anger toward him at one point had boiled, but now it simmered if it was even there at all. Now she felt only remorse about the issue. Sasuke had surpassed her own former teammate in so many ways. His hatred was one of those ways. Even when she fought against Orochimaru she never believed that he would kill either her or Jiraiya. Perhaps it was because the fight never got to a point where either of their lives were in his hands. She had come to believe that even if they had been at his mercy, he wouldn't take their lives. Even if they stood in the way of his plans, she believed that somehow Orochimaru would spare them. He was the type that really just liked the challenge. It was as if he relished the test of his own resolve, his own skill, and his own limits. Sasuke, however, held no such sentiment. Sasuke relished only bloodshed now, and his bloodlust would not be sated until the streets of the village ran with the blood of its people.

'I failed you Sakura. I should have gone after Sasuke myself. This is my village, he was my ninja, it was my responsibility, and I pawned it off on Naruto.'

The year had been long, and difficult. It was draining to work every day in her office and the hospital without seeing the pink haired woman around. She was every bit the daughter that Tsunade never had. Tsunade wanted nothing more than to see her live, to watch her grow, find love, and achieve the greatness that she was reaching for. Alas, fate it seems was a cruel mistress, and it had denied Sakura the opportunity to seize the destiny that she was making for herself. Mostly though, it denied Tsunade someone to pass down her teachings, someone who would carry her Will of Fire, someone who would take up her legacy and pass it down to the next generation.

"This God forsaken village stole someone precious from me again." She said out loud to no one in particular taking another swig of her drink. She didn't really care who heard or saw her right now. She needed a little more time to put things in perspective. The seemingly ageless blonde had tried to let go, to move on emotionally, but had not yet had a chance. She simply had to numb her heart and detach herself from emotional response. Just because her apprentice died did not mean that the village and all its problems would just wait for her to be ready. She had a job to do. It was both a curse and a sacred duty. A curse because of the paperwork and political hassle that prevented a small minority of what she wished to accomplish. A sacred duty because she was carrying out the dream of Dan, her now long dead lover, and paving the way for Naruto, the living embodiment of her little brother Nawaki's ambitions.

"I don't even know why I bother sticking around sometimes." Again she said out loud for no reason at all. It wasn't the booze speaking, she was not foolish enough to get plastered when she knew there was an eminent threat to the village that could arrive at any moment. She had been drinking enough to get the edge off, maybe kill a few nerve endings for an hour, nothing serious. The more she thought about it the more things began to fall into place for her, slowly but surely she began to piece together the questions that she needed answers for.

Naruto was the unquestioned reason she was here in the village again. After years of running all over the world and throwing out money like it was confetti, her old teammate Jiraiya brought along a young and brash Naruto. With his young and naïve idealism, and his bold sweeping claims it became utterly apparent to her that he was without any doubt a kindred spirit of not only Nawaki, but Dan as well. It was this realization, coupled with Naruto's bravery in the face of certain death that awoke Tsunade to a side of herself that she had thought long buried. Naruto had been, and continues to be the main reason she was leading this village.

"Still, Sakura was my legacy, not the brat. If anything I will be just a footnote in the legacy that Naruto will leave behind."

"Milady, is everything alright?" A familiar voice rang softly in her ears. Shizune had never once left her side since Tsunade left the village. Sakura's loss was just as difficult on her. It was like losing a sister to Shizune, and truthfully she had yet to fully deal with the loss herself. She had never admitted such to Tsunade, instead feeling the need to be strong and support Tsunade through the difficult times ahead. The elder woman was ever grateful for her disciple's continued presence.

"Everything's fine Shizune. Do you have a mobilization report?"

"It's in my hand milady. Isn't it a little early to start drinking, even for you?" She asked handing over the report in question.

"This is everyone who is available right now, even those who I listed on leave?" Tsunade asked a little surprised, ignoring the question on the state of her inebriation.

"That is every active ninja currently in the village that is fit for service. I'm honestly amazed we have that many. Ino has really boosted the longevity of our forces with her PTSD treatments."

"Yes that does help, and will be great in the long run, but I'm still worried this isn't enough right now." Tsunade, while not actively involved in Ino's training and growth, was still completely supportive and highly impressed by the girl's accomplishments in the short year since Sakura's death. While she would never come close to being the same caliber of combat medic of Sakura, or even Shizune for that matter, she made strides in fields of study that even Tsunade had no skill in. Ino had been effectively treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, Multiple Personality Syndrome, and even early onset Alzheimer's with varying degrees of success. Her skills in the operating room were also slowly growing to something on par to Sakura. Even though Ino would never be a force to reckon with on the battlefield, at home she more than picked up the slack that was left behind with her student's death. It was truly amazing to behold.

"Perhaps that is Sakura's legacy." Tsunade said, thinking out loud once more.

"What do you mean?"

"I was just thinking on the legacies that we leave behind. Thinking of what Sakura's legacy is, what my legacy was, and what Naruto's legacy will be." Studying the sheet of paper she began taking mental notes. Thinking of where she could place teams into positions that would cover any gaps in their defenses. The village had to be as prepared as possible, Sasuke is the biggest single threat to the village right now, and there is no telling what he has planned. What nagged at Tsunade's mind was how he would pull off something so brazen as to attack a Hidden Village alone. Naruto had diligently informed her that the last Uchiha was building an army, but for all of her intelligence gathering she could find no evidence of an army at all. She had reached out to the other Kage for help in gathering information, but there was nothing. It was like grasping shadows in the dark. There were rumors everywhere, but the evidence could never be seen.

"What your legacy was? Lady Tsunade, you still live. You haven't finished making your legacy yet." Shizune had an obvious concerned voice, and was clearly worried that the troubled blonde was battling depression.

"Sakura was my legacy Shizune."

"No milady, I don't think that she was all you have given this village."

"I know it is early still, but we'll need to get moving. Every ninja we have available and ready for combat will be at the main gate in 20 minutes. I don't know when Naruto and Sasuke will start, and I don't know if that maniac has anything else up his sleeves. We need to be ready for anything," and with her orders made clear several ANBU agents began to spread the word.

"Of course," Shizune said keeping in step with her master as they began to work their way toward the freshly announced meeting place. "Lady Tsunade if you don't mind me asking, what would you say Sakura's legacy is?"

"I have been trying to figure out the answer to that question for a long time, but it just came to me a moment ago. You just talked about how Ino has really been improving. Also, just consider the massive influx of people enrolling in the Medical Corps, both in the Shinobi and the civilian programs. Now if you were to combine the increases we have seen in the quality and quantity within the Medical Corps, along with the sudden increase in young girls Sakura's age getting married, and professing their love to a once secret crush, then I think we begin to see what Sakura's legacy is."

"And that is?" Shizune had a very confused look on her face that in turn brought a small smile to Tsunade.

"She taught us not to hesitate to follow your heart, and do everything in your power to help those around you. While Sakura was very hesitant in matters of the heart, she always helped out those in need. I think we are seeing people who were inspired by her and her story in life, doing those very things in her memory. Sakura showed so many of us that life is short. So when people began looking back on her life, what she accomplished, her dreams and desires, they realize that they shouldn't waste time because you don't get much of it. People don't want to die with regret, they never have, but Sakura's death was a wakeup call for many. Now I see thousands of people living like Nawaki used to."

"How was that?"

"One time long ago I got on Nawaki's case for staying out late and training himself into the ground. He told me he wasn't very tired so he thought he would do something useful while he was up. I told him it was foolish to train so hard when it was so late. He just looked at me like I was stupid and told me that I should spend every chance I get working to make my dreams a reality. He was talking about being Hokage, but I took that as some sign that I should ask Dan to marry me."

"That's pretty profound coming from Nawaki." Shizune giggled a little bit thinking of the rascal having a deep philosophical moment with his older sister.

"What's that phrase? From the mouths of babes, or something like that."

A small silence was enjoyed by the two as the exited the Hokage tower, and saw a familiar face moving toward them. His hands stuffed in his pockets, and a general expression of apathy adorned his face. "Lady Hokage," Shikamaru greeted rather blandly as he approached the two women.

"Shikamaru, are you ready for combat?"

"Yeah, this whole day is gonna be a real drag, but I'm ready."

"Good. I want you to gather all of the genin, explain the nature of the situation that we are in to them, and begin executing the emergency preparedness drills. Get as many civilians as you can in the old Root catacombs. Women, children, and Academy students have the priority here, Sasuke never knew about the catacombs so he would have a harder time finding civilians hiding down there. Once those are full then move the rest to the other safe houses within the Hokage Monument. Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances let the civilians think this is anything more than a drill, I do not want panic."

"It will be done Lady Hokage," Shikamaru stated with a noticeable change in both stature and voice as he put on his game face, so to speak, and jumped off to carry out the will of his commanding officer.

Again moving toward the village gates Tsunade noticed that the village was becoming much more alive. The activity was largely ninja prepairing themselves for the coming conflict. While such activity may have caused a stir in the village in the past, the female Hokage had been preparing her forces for this moment over the past several months. Naruto had gotten a specific date from the Great Elder Toad and given it to Tsunade. She then had promptly devised several emergency preparedness drills for both ninja and civilian alike. These drills were mandatory with few exceptions given, the monthly drill had no exceptions. Everyone had to follow whatever emergency protocol applied to them. Whether they were young, old, healthy, or in the intensive care, there was a set of rules and procedures to follow that would maximize the safety of either the village or the individual. She had disguised this mandatory drill in such a way that this month's drill fell on this day.

"Milady," Shizune was rather curious about her state of mind today. Normally Tsunade would be applauded by the young medic for staying so focused, but she imagined Shizune needed to make sure that she had the proper frame of mind. "What did you think Naruto's legacy will be?"

"That brat? He'll be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen, and if he isn't then I will spend the rest of eternity breaking his face in the afterlife." The smile that was on the elder medic's face was one that portrayed the jest of her last words. Shizune, however, knew the woman well enough to know that if Naruto did not meet Tsunade's standards then she would carry out that threat with pleasure.

"He has a long way to go before I let him take that hat though,"

"Like what?"

"Just because I had him promoted to jonin while the war was still technically going on doesn't mean I think he is ready to lead the village. I only did it so we could bypass all those tests, it would have been a waste of time. Both Jiraiya and Minato had genin teams of their own, do you honestly think I wouldn't make him deal with the same crap he dished out when he was young? Besides, that kid has proven himself to be an effective teacher, just look at Konohamaru. That kid has grown by leaps and bounds under Narutos' instruction."

"That is true, but I wonder what genin team you will give to him?"

The gates were now in view and she could see the massing crowd of ninja that were still gathering in its shadow. A familiar face jumped down to her side. Well the face would be familiar if it had ever been seen before, but Tsunade had no time to dwell on silly technicalities that serve as clever little jokes for those who were privy to her thoughts.

"Reporting for duty,"

"Kakashi, I know I released you from medical leave two days ago, but you and I both know I have not cleared you to return to the active duty roster. You are supposed to be in physical therapy, not on the front lines. Your spine was practically shattered on that last mission, it is a miracle you can even walk right now."

"But here I am, and I have you to thank for that."

"Indeed you do, but that does not mean that I think you are suddenly fit for combat."

"With all due respect Lady Hokage, this is my home and I will defend it with my life."

"I will have things well under control. In fact I drew up battle plans just in case you got lost on the road of life today." Tsunade shot a quick glance at Shizune, who was clearly barely able to maintain her composure after hearing the statement.

Visibly shaken by the vicious assault on his character that she had made with masterful comedic timing, Tsunade watched him close his visible eye in such a way that he was obviously smiling "I will overlook that if you overlook my defiance of orders."

"Not a chance. I told you, you are not seeing combat today. Even if your recovery was remarkable I cannot risk losing your services permanently just because you want to fight today."

Tsunade knew this man. He would never defy an order. However there was something that rubbed every ninja the wrong way if they were able to help in a situation, but were ordered to stand down. Tsnuade knew that he would feel absolute guilt if someone died today and even more so if he thought he could have made the difference between life and death. Frankly, she would as well.

'I can't risk him fighting on the frontlines, his skills are far too valuable to risk by being reckless, but perhaps there is something he can do after all.'

"I don't really know what this day will bring, so I won't risk putting you in the middle of the combat zone."

Kakashi was obviously dejected. She heard him sigh in defeat. 'Sometimes it is far too fun toying with him using a little dramatic flair. Better let him know before he gets too moody.'

"However, there is something that you can do."

Kakashi's posture and visible facial features made an emotional one eighty. "Whatever you ask of me I'll see it done."

"Naruto will be fighting Sasuke at the Valley of the End. They may have already started. I want you to go and observe the fight. You should stay completely hidden, and don't interfere because Naruto would never let me hear the end of it if. When Naruto is done planting Sasuke six feet under I am sure he will be needing help getting home."

"You want me to be his honor guard?"

"If you want to see it that way, then yes. I want Ino to accompany you, Naruto may need medical attention and she won't be that effective as a medic in a front line situation."

"Very well,"

"Are we satisfied?"

"I am, but I must ask one thing. What if Sasuke wins?"

"I cannot believe that will happen. Naruto will not fail us now," Her fist clinched, her teeth were gnashing together, as her anger was rising at the very thought of the blonde haired hero dying in the line of duty. Realizing that the thought had given rise to such a reaction she calmed herself and thought rationally about what could be done in the unlikely event that fate would kill the hero and allow the villain to triumph. "If that should happen send both Ino and Pakun back on different paths to the village to send word. After that you can make your next move as you see fit, and pray you will be able to finish the job. If Naruto fails, then all we can really do is hope that Sasuke is enough of an arrogant fool to think he can defeat an entire village of ninja by himself."

"I'll be on my way then. Good luck Lady Hokage," and he was off in a blur.

Tsunade had just arrived at the gates and began handing off orders to the various division and squad captains. No sooner had she started than she was again interrupted by a young Hyuga. Getting a good look at the young chunin she saw it was the heiress Hanabi.

"Lady Tsunade, scouting report." Said the girl in a crouched kneel at the blonde woman's feet.

"Report."

"A lone man spotted approaching the village, identity confirmed to be Orochimaru."

"Damn! That snake survived after all." Gritting her teeth Tsunade immediately wished that Kakashi was combat ready. Orochimaru had become nothing short of an unstoppable force in the past few years. He had always been difficult to kill before, and shortly after Naruto returned to the village with Jiraiya Tsunade felt as though she could breathe again when she heard of the mad man's death by Sasuke's hands. She had heard the rumors of his return during the war, and when Naruto confirmed them nearly a year ago she had to accept a painfully obvious conclusion. It seemed that even death could not stop her former teammate anymore. Rattling off her immediate orders she spun around to find Shizune. Meeting her eyes Tsunade declared "I will go and deal with him myself. You all have my orders, Shizune find Hiashi, he is in command should things escalate while I fight Orochimaru."

"Yes milady!" and with her confirmation Shizune was off in a black blur of movement.

'So it comes to this. I never thought I would find myself here at this point in my life,' She moved toward her opponent at a brisk pace. Confidence rolled off of her, as if her very being was filled with it. No one would know she felt fear, but the first lesson a Kage must learn is how to appear confident, calm, collected, and in control no matter what situation. She could see his form, a hazed figure, coming into focus on the horizon. 'This fight, will likely be my last. After stealing my brother, my lover, my best friend, and my apprentice, this village will finally claim me. I thought I would be angry or resentful.'

She had no battle strategy at this point. She really had no clue as to how she would be able to win anymore. Orochimaru used to be human, and now it appears he had either evolved into something greater or descended into a monster. 'No! I can't think like that. If it lives it can die. No matter how immortal he may think he is, he can still die. No jutsu is unstoppable, no strategy without flaw, no fighting style perfect. He has some weakness somewhere.'

His face began to form in the distance. Those otherworldly eyes, and that ever arrogant smirk stared into the depths of her soul. 'Why? It doesn't make any sense for him to be helping Sasuke instead of trying to take the Sharingan. What does he have to gain?' She closed her eyes briefly in an effort to piece together this puzzle. Her efforts were in vain, and when she opened her eyes he was there.

"Hello again Tsunade" his voice was cool and smooth, it was as if he was amused, "I am pleased to see you again after all these years,"

"The feeling is far from mutual,"

The stare down began, 'Why is he here? Why isn't he attacking yet? I might as well ask him, because I am certainly not going to figure it out on my own,'

"What do you want Orochimaru?"

"Well that is a silly question, don't you think so? You have known my goals for years, do you really think they have changed after all this time?"

"Don't patronize me! Why are you helping the Uchiha and not wearing him like a meat suit?"

"Who says I'm not?"

"I'm no fool! You are working for him, and he is fighting with Naruto at the Valley of the End,"

"My, my, you do stay very well informed," Orochimaru stated with a slight chuckle in his voice. If Tsunade had not been used to the sound already she would have found it disturbing.

"My dear Sasuke offered me the power of my own Sharingan if I were to help him. We found the collection of those wonderful eyes that Itachi left behind when he slaughtered his clan. When Sasuke succeeds then I will have a pair of my very own."

"What makes you think Sasuke wouldn't just kill you when this is over?"

"Oh I am planning on it. When he does strike then he will have discovered too late that all he did was spring my trap,"

"What makes you think I won't just kill you?"

"Princess Tsunade, can you honestly go toe to toe with the power of a Sage and hope to survive?"

Her eyes narrowed, a low rumble left her throat. 'Either he is bluffing or the body he is using is capable of withstanding the power of Sage Mode. Jiraiya warned me that he was capable of it, but he had yet to find a suitable host. What he doesn't know is that I am one of the few people Naruto will regularly spar with when he needs practice utilizing nature's powers.' She had drastically increased her own reaction time, speed, and strength utilizing her own chakra and medical prowess to push her nervous system far beyond even the accepted norms for even a highly trained ninja. She knew that she could hold her own against her villainous teammate, but it was a matter of how long.

'In a battle of strength I win and he knows it. When it comes to skill, he has an edge, but he's not foolish enough to take me lightly. But in a battle of attrition, he wins every time, and he knows it.'

"It doesn't matter. Whether I live or I die is no longer of concern. I am a Kage, and my life was forfeit the moment I took that job. If it means stopping you I would gladly lay down my life to protect my village."

"Hmmm, you have the right idea about the title you hold but you are really ready to throw your life away?"

"If I must," she answered without hesitation.

"When the Resurrection technique was undone during the war the spirits of those who were revived were released. Apparently, the Second's technique had another drawback that neither Kabuto nor myself had ever run across. Any spirit released from the technique, either by spirit's own strength or the will of the user, can never again be summoned. So I cannot revive Dan, but if you stand aside now, I can bring Nawaki back to you."

"Are you even human anymore?" He voice was pure anger laced with a closely restrained wrath. Far too experienced to start a fight half-cocked and driven by emotion, she held herself from lunging at the man.

"I strive to become so much more," he answered with a sadistic smirk on his face.

"You mourned with me when Nawaki died. How could you so heartlessly disregard his memory? How could you treat Dan and Nawaki's legacies as if they had no value? How could speak as if they died in vain?"

"Unless I achieve my goals they did die in vain. Do not misunderstand me Tsunade, I watched as you grieved Dan. I mourned with you for Nawaki. He was my student afterall, so do not think that I have disregarded their memory. Do not believe I have spurned their legacy. No, it was their memory that has pushed me forward. Their deaths have added more motivation to achieving my goals. Hardly a day goes by where I don't think of them, their legacy is ever my motivation. If I can unlock the secrets to immortality, then no one else need die as they did."

Tsunade stood dumbfounded. She didn't want to believe the words coming out of his mouth. The very notion that he would use the death of her brother and her lover as motivation to continue his sick and twisted schemes was infuriating. Part of her wanted to believe that it was all a charade, and all he had said was to get under her skin and into her head. However, she could see no deceit in his eyes, nor could she hear detect it on his voice. The other part of her saw the inconsistency in his words and his actions. He may remember the people, he may remember the pain of their passing, but he does not care for what they stood for or for who they were. "But, you have killed so many innocent people to try and get what you want. Dan and Nawaki would never approve."

"A means to an end Tsunade, just a means to an end," he said without concern for her objections.

"These are people's lives you are toying around with Orochimaru, they are not something you can use as a stepping stone to achieve greater heights," her rage was audible, and still on the rise.

"My foe is death itself Tsunade, he will not patiently wait for me to defeat him, he will take my life at a moment's notice. Just like my parents, just like Dan and Nawaki, and just like Sensei and Jiraiya. Death is coming, and I have no time to spare. So I must remove the obstacles that lie in my path."

Then it all made sense. Orochimaru was no longer the enigma that he was before. His goals, his plans, his actions, they all made perfect sense now. 'Orochimaru, you are still clinging to the pain that has come from losing everyone you cared for. You are so unwilling to let go, and it has warped you into the perverse man that you are now. I am so very sorry. I could have done more to help you cope. I have lost just as much as you, but I always had others around me to help me move on. I have been knocked down by death and loss, but it did not keep me down. Instead, I have been made stronger by it.'

She stood staring at her opponent. "Well, I don't suppose that offering to bring Nawaki back will really sway you to step aside now will it?"

"Not a chance," she replied with a firm resolve clearly noted.

"Then I believe we should get started Princess Tsunade," Orochimaru stated as Tsunade watched him slip into an all too familiar crouching stance that made him resemble a snake poised to strike. It allowed for a quick reaction to whatever Tsunade decided to do.

'This will be my legacy, to show the future generations how to join together against the pain of death and loss as one, and become stronger for it.'

Tsunade charged forward with a speed that brought an inquisitive look to Orochimaru's face. The look itself would be disregarded by most, but Tsunade knew that it was equivalent to surprise for the reptilian Sage. 'He has misjudged my skill level. He'll find out that I am full of surprises.' Punching the ground her opponent once occupied caused the earth to buckle, as deep cracks formed from the force of her chakra enhanced strength. She turned to face her opponent, who had just landed on a nearby tree branch.

With the smile that adorned his face, and his hands in the snake seal Tsunade knew trouble was on her doorstep. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," and as air was expelled from his lungs Orochimaru unleashed hurricane force winds upon the elderly blonde.

As she flew through the air Tsunade decided to enhance her skin's durability to avoid being cut to ribbons by the blades of wind that were attempting to slash through her body. Utilizing an earth nature chakra flow technique she recently developed, she manipulated her chakra in such a way that it simulates massive amounts of pressure needed to turn carbon into diamond. This chakra generated construct transforms her skin into a near indestructible armor that can be utilized for attack or defense. While the substance itself is not truly diamond she manipulates the balance of yin and yang in order to make the appearance realistic. She had not yet decided upon a name. She had been leaning toward Earth Release: Armor of the White Queen, but this was not yet set in stone. It was inspired by the Raikage, and made possible by sparring with Naruto.

Righting herself in midair, she landed on her feet glancing over herself. 'No visible damage. It's a good thing I developed this technique. In the ninja world, stagnation is death,' she thought as she located her opponent. Orochimaru had maneuvered himself close by, and prepared for his next move and her retaliation. 'He is keeping himself at a mid to long range distance, if I can close the gap somehow this fight is over. I wish I knew a long range Lightning Jutsu I could use as a catalyst for my Body Pathway Derangement technique. If I survive this thing the first thing I do is find a way to use that move at range. I need some distraction something that would make him hesitate, or catch him off guard.'

"Hmm, it seems you are full of surprises. You weren't even injured by my last attack, and since your Chakra Seal is still intact you didn't heal the damage that it should have caused. With the amount of chakra I used in that jutsu there really should be some damage," the Snake mused aloud.

"Why don't you come over here, and I'll give you all the surprises you can handle." In her mind she could imagine Jiraiya, slack jawed, eyes bulging, and nose bleeding at the innuendo her retort contained. Luckily Orochimaru's imagination doesn't work in more juvenile ways.

At this moment Orochimaru landed on the ground several yards infront of Tsunade, and almost as if he planned it, things became perilous for Tsunade. Two nondescript boxes rose from the ground. Tsunade knew what this was. She knew this was the Impure World Reincarnation Summoning Technique that the serpentine ninja had become so fond of. 'He never used the technique. He couldn't have. There were no hand seals, his chakra never spiked. He couldn't have done it. Could he have?'

The boxes opened, as Orochimaru chuckled to himself. "It seems this will all be over soon Tsunade. I wish that we could have played just a little while longer, but dear Sasuke seems to be growing impatient."

"What do you mean?"

The two figures stepped forward and looked around slowly. A man and a woman bearing black hair and the Uchiha crest on their clothing. They looked at each other, "Mikoto," the man spoke.

"Fugaku? What is the meaning of this?" The woman calmly responded.

"It seems someone has brought us back from the grave, and we are now their slaves."

"Who would do such a horrid thing?" the Uchiha mistress wondered.

Orochimaru then decided to make his presence known. "Your son Sasuke has brought you back to be the instruments of his vengeance against the Leaf Village.

"I see," Mikoto responded with quiet understanding.

"Then why are we well beyond the village walls Orochimaru?" Fugaku questioned sternly.

"Sasuke has seen fit to ensure the death of the Hokage," confidence oozed from his voice. While it wasn't uncommon for him to be so brazenly confident, and given the circumstances it wasn't unjustified, but Tsunade hated being counted out before the fight even started.

With three foes now seemingly set to engage her, Tsunade could feel the air thicken around her. Mikoto was staring her down, Sharingan blazing. Orochimaru looked upon her with glee painted on his face. Fugaku was boring a hole into the back of Orochimaru's head with his own pair of Sharingan eyes. Tsunade had no clue as to what the sudden shift in battle could mean, but two possibilities were certain. Either she was in for the fight of her life, or this would be the last fight of her life.


	7. The Showdown

The scene was picturesque. Two statues of two men, facing each other, as a waterfall was raging between them. It would have been an excellent place to meditate, relax, train, or anything else that Naruto could think of. However, the one thing that he really had no desire to do was the one thing that would soon fill this scene he was looking at.

"Go ahead and get in a good position. Make sure you are close enough so I can dispel you individually, but far enough away so that Sasuke doesn't bother going after you."

Wordlessly his three created clones moved off to carry out his orders. Naruto remained focused on his target in front of him. Standing atop the statue of Uchiha Madara was his former teammate, and the man he had once called a brother. Sasuke stood there, clearly focusing on something. A single hand was in a simple half ram hand seal, and he was releasing a steady stream of chakra. 'What are you doing over there Sasuke?'

'**You could just go over there and find out. I think you should just strike him down now while he is distracted.**' The Nine Tailed Fox chimed in.

'Nah, not my style. I want a straight fight with him. Besides, something like that wouldn't work on him.'

'**Just a thought. Against the Sharingan you will want to take advantage of every opportunity you get, because you won't get many.**'

'I'll think about it. Alright, you hang back and try to keep yourself from being influenced by him.'

'**I will. Good luck kid.**'

'Thanks.' With that Naruto steeled himself, and for the first time since he released the beast in the battle with Madara, Naruto sealed away the Nine Tailed Fox. His resolve had been tested the past year. His desires juggled between revenge and justice, hatred and love, regret and remorse. He confirmed within himself that this was justice in the purest sense, and revenge had no place in it. Naruto did not desire Sasuke's blood in any form. He would take no joy in fighting Sasuke, nor would he be happy if Sasuke died. He was doing this to protect his home and his loved ones who resided there. He would give Sasuke a brief moment to explain himself, and give him one last chance at a peaceful resolution. What happened beyond that point would be the result of Sasuke's decision. He would allow his friends fate to remain in his own hands.

Moving slowly toward his destination Naruto began to think about the practical side of this battle. 'What is the most deadly here. Susanoo? Tsunade said that she was able to crack a few ribs on Madara's Susanoo with a few of her punches. I should be able to do the same against Sasuke in Sage Mode. Tsukuyomi? I can just fight him with my eyes closed using Sage Mode's sensory skills to navigate if I need to. That leaves Amaterasu. What eye does that thing come out of again?'

Close enough to his destination Naruto leapt onto the head of Senju Hashirama's statue. Landing he saw that Sasuke hadn't moved, flinched, or even reacted to his arrival.

"Naruto," Sasuke said coolly. "I'll be with you in a moment."

"Sorry, I thought we were here to fight each other. If I had known you would have kept me waiting then I would have taken my time getting here just like Kakashi-sensei does," Naruto retorted with sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

As the silence settled in Naruto decided to use the moment to test a theory. He knew that Sasuke had spent a good deal of time with Orochimaru, and after his last fight with the snake Sannin he learned the hard way that the near immortal ninja had been extensively trained in Sage Jutsu. 'If I start drawing in natural energy Sasuke should feel the need to prepare for an incoming attack, but only if he has been trained in the Sage Arts. Or at least I hope he will react,'

Briefly he drew in nature's power and he could feel several things. The power of the waterfall as it flowed over the face of the cliff. He felt the subtle life in the flora that surrounded the area near the river and at the forest's edge. There were a number of small animals in the area including birds, fish, and various woodland critters. Then there was Sasuke. His chakra felt dark, cold, and menacing. It felt more malevolent than he could remember the Nine Tales chakra ever feeling. He never altered his stance, his chakra flow didn't change, and the only conclusion that Naruto could draw is that Sasuke didn't sense the threat that he currently possessed. So he let the borrowed strength leave him.

"Are you going to be much longer? I kind of have people to see, things to do, and places to be," Naruto said feigning annoyance. He truly was getting a little annoyed at being ignored like this, but he certainly wasn't going to push the issue too far. If Sasuke didn't want to fight then that was great.

"I'm just tying up a loose end," he made a few hand seals in rapid succession and then opened his eyes. His stance relaxed, Naruto noted that he wasn't nearly as rigid as he had been. 'Whatever technique he was using was clearly one that didn't require him to be physically present, but it requires total concentration and focus to use like that. So he won't likely be using that move here.' Sasuke's eyes were set on Naruto's, his Sharingan already activated.

"There are a few things I want to know," Naruto started.

"Fine. Since you are going to die here, I'll indulge your curiosity," he replied coldly.

There were a large number of things that Naruto didn't know about Sasuke anymore. After Sakura's death Naruto realized that he didn't have any real understanding of the man, not in the capacity that he felt he used to have. Yet, despite all of the uncertainty there were only three things that Naruto truly wanted answers to.

"Why did you kill Sakura?"

A smirk crept on his face, "She was holding you back. You would never fight me with intent to kill as long as she lived. You knew she loved me, and you loved her too much to fight me to the death. Even if she didn't love me at all, you never had the desire to fight without holding something back. I knew if I killed her it would push you over that edge. Now let me add some extra incentive for you to fight me to the fullest extent of your power."

"Why would you even want that?"

"To test my own limits. You were the only one to ever pose a real challenge to me, so you are the only standard I can measure myself by. If you fight me without intent to kill, you will die. I will kill you, and it will not be a true measure of my real power. Now you will fight me with no reservations, and once I am satisfied with the test of my strength I will end your miserable life. Once you are dead I will march into the Leaf, and I will burn it to the ground. Your friends, the Hokage, and even that Hyuuga girl you have become fond of, they will all die by my hand. I will make it slow, it will be painful, and they will all know that it was because you didn't have the strength to stop me. They will know that you abandoned them to suffer and die, because you didn't have the strength to kill me. They will know this because it is what I will tell them in the moments before they reach the end," Sasuke replied with a sickening coolness to his voice. To kill so heartlessly, it was almost like facing down Gaara before he had made a change.

'Well, I don't have a problem killing you if you force me Sasuke. I guess this means that you won't go peacefully then. One down,' Naruto thought as he readied his next question. "How do you plan on destroying the Leaf? There is no way that you are strong enough to pull that off by yourself,"

"In a certain sense I am. I have found the collection of Sharingan that Madara took from the members of my clan the night Itachi slaughtered them. I also, acquired, several people to help me in using the Impure World Resurrection Jutsu. I will revive the members of my clan who died that night, and with their strength at my command we will burn the Leaf until only ashes remain. I will bring about the coup d'état that Itachi paid his life to prevent. I will end the peace that was bought with my brother's blood, a peace the Leaf did not deserve and took for granted. After I have my vengeance I will rebuild this world in my own image."

'He is mad with grief and the pain of having killed his brother who only ever loved and protected him. Normally I would try to dissuade him from this path. I should say something about how Itachi would not have wanted this, but that would only make him furious. I can't reason with him, he wouldn't let me. Last question.'

"What did Sakura tell you before she died?"

Naruto heard it start out quietly. Sasuke's laughter became more audible every moment he paused to breathe. Soon he was laughing maniacally, and his voice echoed slightly off the surface of the water and the face of the cliff. Naruto's fists were clinched hard. His nails dug into his skin and blood began to drip down. His teeth were clasped shut, seething with anger but doing his best to keep it from being visible. His natural urge to rush over to his foe's laughing form and turn it into a mangled corpse was quickly overtaking him, and it was taking his entire strength of will to keep him from doing so. This was not an attempt at provocation, Sasuke was genuinely finding the moment humorous. To Naruto, Sasuke's reaction was like spitting on Sakura's grave. It was the ultimate insult to her memory.

Finally quieting down, Sasuke answered "She said that she wanted me to always remember that she loved me, and she hoped I would remember the reason why before the end."

"Fine," Naruto quietly growled. 'I am sorry it has to come to this. Sakura, I hope you will forgive me. The Sasuke we both knew died a long time ago.'

"This is it Naruto. It's time you joined Sakura in the next life," Sasuke said closing his eyes and placing his hand on the hilt of his blade. It was a brazen display of his typical calm assurance in his own skill and abilities, many would mistake it for arrogance, but Naruto knew better. Sasuke did not doubt Naruto's abilities, and had probably hit him with a multi-layered genjutsu as a first line of defense.

In an instant Naruto launched himself from the top of Hashirama's statue toward Sasuke at a blinding speed. Sasuke always was the faster of the pair, but speed was something that Naruto had spent the last four months working on in conjunction with the weapon on his back. Reaching his hand over his head and grabbing the hilt of his teacher's sword. Perhaps a second had passed since he made his move, and he was now upon his opponent. Drawing the tantō he brought the keen edge to bear on the right side of Sasuke's face. As the blade passed through the eye Sasuke's body broke down and reformed itself into several crows who all took flight.

"You are far too impatient Naruto. I would like to savor your death, but you go straight for the killing blow," Sasuke's voice came from behind him.

"I'm through playing games with you Sasuke," a restrained rage was in his voice, and his heart.

"That's big talk for such a little man. Wouldn't you rather tell me how I should return to the village and rejoin Team Seven just like the old days?"

'I would, but it wouldn't do any good. Instead I have to break the genjutsu you placed on me and find where you are really hiding.' From his new perch upon the great stone head of Uchiha Madara, Naruto began to quiet his mind. He prepared himself to enter Sage Mode, knowing that he could not waste any time in a long drawn out conversation with Sasuke. 'What Sasuke was doing earlier looked just like what Orochimaru was doing when he resurrected the Pervy Sage. If he is using that jutsu on the village already I need to hurry back as fast as possible.'

"What's the matter Naruto? Do you not have any speeches for me about how I should stop? Will you not try to explain how you know what I am feeling? Are there no words that you will use to dissuade me?"

The buildup of nature's energies and balancing them with his own chakra was a task that Naruto could confidently do in nearly every situation. He could feel the power of Sasuke's genjutsu crumble underneath the weight of the Sage chakra as it altered the flow of his own strength. He did not look and return an answer to Sasuke's phantom that was presently positioned on the statue opposite him. Soon he could sense Sasuke's true presence standing on the edge of the wood that surrounded the peak of the waterfall, and he knew that he would have to make his move and catch Sasuke completely by surprise. 'If I can't kill him in one shot then I will have to at least disable the Sharingan.'

"No Sasuke, not this time," Naruto replied acting as if he were still under the influence of Sasuke's illusion. "This time there will be no more words between us. From here on out, until this fight is finished," and with a speed that out-paced what he previously demonstrated, the distance between them was covered, "there will be blood." The blade in Naruto's hand shone silver as he wrapped it in his wind nature chakra, and brought it to bear on his foe from behind. Clearly Sasuke's Sharingan was not able to predict Naruto's sudden attack, because there was genuine shock on Sasuke's face when he turned around to see the golden eyes of his former teammate staring into his own. Yet, in spite of the surprise, Sasuke's reflexes were still sharp enough to react in time as he instinctively forced his body to back away from the attack.

It was as if the world stood still the blade, and the chakra that coated it passed within millimeters of Sasuke's left eyebrow. Even when the pin wheel pattern morphed and changed into a set of overlapping ovals Naruto remained determined to either end this fight here, or gain a decisive upper hand. He could see the first drops of blood show in the left eye and he knew that black flames would soon follow. Sasuke had erred in his judgement believing that the real attack was the blade or the cutting nature of wind that honed its keen edge. Naruto now knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that his foe was no Sage.

Every Sage that utilized their great power would be surrounded by an aura of nature's energy. Only those who have had training in the Sage Arts could even sense this aura, and only those who have trained with the toads of Mt. Myōboku could manipulate that aura. Naruto learned that a chakra conductive weapon such as his teachers would be surrounded in that same aura when his chakra flowed through it. He then learned how to mold that aura much like he would mold his wind chakra. This attack was something even the visual prowess of the Sharingan could not see, and soon this aura was just as dangerous and just as sharp as the blade Sasuke had convinced himself that he had dodged.

Within the second it had taken to launch the attack damage was done. Naruto landed after his second strike, and Sasuke's screams of pain let him know that it hit home. He looked up to see his one-time friend on his knees hunched over upon the surface of the water. Blood coated his hand and was mixing with the river. It still felt a bit wrong to Naruto, he preferred to act openly and always felt guilty about sneak attacks like that. Getting a leg up during a fight was one thing, but using cloak and dagger style moves to start off a fight just left a bad taste in his mouth. The smile that crept to Sasuke's face, however, helped him overcome his guilt quickly. It almost looked as if Sasuke relished the pain.

Meeting Naruto's gaze, one hand clasped over his left eye as a steady stream of blood escaped through his fingers, Sasuke stood. "You ruined my eye."

Knowing that Sasuke's eyes were the coveted gift of the Uchiha blood, and having learned that his brother's eyes had been implanted into Sasuke, Naruto figured that his opponent would go berserk. If that be the case, then a defensive game may be a better choice. Holding off emotionally compromised attacks until a mistake was made was far easier than matching a lunatic on a rampage blow for blow. Naruto stood and took a loose defensive stance waiting to see what the next move would be.

"I wonder," Sasuke continued. His voice was shaky as were his legs, "did you know that my left eye was where Amaterasu was generated, or were you just guessing?"

Naruto held to his claim from earlier. He had nothing left to say to that man and would not dignify his goading with a response.

"It is no matter," his resolve to fight was astounding as he stood just as calmly as he had before the fight began, "As much as I would have enjoyed listening to you scream in agony as the flames of Amaterasu burned you alive for seven days, I can kill you in several ways that will be just as satisfying."

'Are you even human anymore?' Naruto thought to himself. Half of him honestly wondered, and the other half already knew the answer to that.

The sound of birds chirping filled Naruto's ears as he saw lightning form in the hand Sasuke had pressed against his face. A guttural scream overpowered the sound of the birds as Sasuke writhed in pain.

'He is cauterizing the wound with electrical burns from a Chidori. To top it off he still has the focus to stay on the water's surface. I may have done myself a great disservice by crippling you. Now I can't fight you at your full strength, and I won't get another chance to do that.'

"Now," he said removing his hand from his burned and scarred face. He drew his sword and held it in a one handed reverse grip while the other hand was coated in the dangerous lightning, "where were we?"

In the blink of an eye Sasuke was upon him. There was the clash of metal as blades crossed. The lightning enhanced edge danced along every opening that Naruto revealed. It created a gash here, a severed tendon there, and pierced skin spilling plasma into the water beneath their feet. Sasuke was displaying his superior speed, skills, and experience as a swordsman. Each strike flowed into the next with Sasuke wasting no movement or effort. The raven haired mad man was setting the pace in this elegant dance with death. Naruto knew he was disadvantaged in kenjutsu, but his Sage Art: Invisible Sword technique was just enough to keep Sasuke from pressing his advantage and taking a full blown offensive due to the simple fact that he had to worry about a sword he could neither see nor sense. Naruto blocked Sasuke's sword and wheeled his body around using the momentum to make a powerful strike at Sasuke's neck. His blade was blocked near the nonexistent guard of Sasuke's sword, and used his free hand to bring his Chidori across Naruto's chest.

Sasuke reversed the slashing motion of his hand treating it as a dagger, trying to catch Naruto again, but Naruto jumped back to try and gain distance between them. Sasuke had other intentions. The lightning in his palm extended cutting into Naruto's side. It would have cleaved him in two if he had not used his Sensei's sword to block it. As the distance between them grew the Chidori Spear grew in length. Naruto was struggling to keep the blade from digging into him further since the feeling in his sword arm was falling prey to the numbing effects Sasuke's electrical chakra produced. Just as he felt he could no longer maintain a constant flow of wind nature chakra in his sword, the distance between himself and Sasuke became too great for the attack to follow. For nearly five meters Naruto fought against the powers of gravity and his foe's seamless transfer from his signature attack to a mid-ranged variant. He was no longer worried about not fighting against Sasuke's full strength; he was more than a handful with a handicap.

Naruto fell down the length of the waterfall and plunged into the water below. He tried to swim toward the surface but found that much of his right side was completely numb and useless. He could see the blood slowly leaking from his side from where Saskue cut into him. 'His mastery of the Chidori is amazing, but lightning is weak against wind so when the time comes I will have to use the Rasenshuriken against him,' Naruto decided upon sheathing his Sensei's sword. Naruto would not be trying to engage in sword play again. It was something foreign to him, and to try and utilize a skill set he had not fully developed against someone who had clearly mastered it would be tantamount to a death sentence. Slowly he rose to the surface of the river, and climbed upon it. As he began to come to his feet, Sasuke landed on the water's surface at the base of the water fall with a degree of grace that would sicken a lesser man.

"It seems your Sage Jutsu has run out. That was your only hope of winning Naruto," Sasuke said as if warning the blonde ninja.

In pure defiance of those perceptions on his own limitations Naruto formed a cross hand seal. Sasuke, obviously taking this to be a sign of Naruto's typical attempt to overwhelm his opponent with a small army of clones, answered by charging directly toward the original while he was still alone. At the last possible moment Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke's wrist and prevented the sword from striking true. He opened his eyes and saw surprise again fill Sasuke's countenance. He couldn't help but smile with the satisfaction of knowing that twice Sasuke misjudged the limitations of his power, and twice Naruto would make him pay for it.

His grip tightened on Sasuke's wrist until it snapped causing him to drop his favored weapon. In a moment Naruto was delivering an unrelenting assault on Sasuke. To his credit Sasuke was doing a marvelous job of dodging most of Naruto's attacks in such a way that utilizing the Sage's aura in the fist fight was a failure. Sasuke seemed to have learned that Naruto's attacks are not as straight forward as they had been some ten years ago, and adjusted his strategy accordingly. Even the ones that he couldn't dodge were blocked with a partial manifestation of Susanoo. The various ribs and bones that appeared to protect the user were fractured, cracked, and broken. The constant use and dispersal of the mythical chakra warrior had benefits on its own. In disuse Susanoo would heal from whatever wounds it took, but Naruto never gave Sasuke much time to fully utilize this benefit. The constant strain that using his most powerful skill placed on Sasuke meant one thing; this pace would only be maintained for so long as they danced upon the surface of the water.

Then an opening appeared and Naruto took it, making a high kick right under Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke was sent soaring straight up into the air, but Naruto would not leave it there. He jumped performing a front flip as he reached the height Sasuke was forcibly sent to. Front flip turned to ax kick as Sasuke was painfully redirected back toward the water and crashed through the surface. Had it been solid earth beneath them Sasuke would have died on impact, and likely would have left a sizeable crater judging from the splash that was made. Naruto allowed gravity to take him back down to rest on the face of the river.

Reaching the surface again as the water from the impact began to fall back down as rain would. 'Sasuke has been down there for a while now. I'm pretty sure I didn't kill him so what could he be planning?' The pieces to that puzzle began to fall into place as Naruto noted a drastic increase in the temperature of the water. Soon he saw a light, growing in size, form under his feet. Naturally, the idea that it was no longer safe to remain in that particular spot formed in Naruto's mind. He jumped away from what turned out to be a large pillar of fire that took the shape of what appeared to be a dragon's head. Steam filled the air and a thick haze formed around the surface of the water. Standing on the banks of the river born of the waterfall Naruto waited for a sign of Sasuke's presence.

Naruto could sense him, and when the steam finally cleared he could see Sasuke standing again on the statue of his ancestor. The sky grew dark and ominous, and soon the low rumble of thunder sounded over them both. Rain poured down, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia as he remembered the last time they fought here in this place. The last time Sasuke left him for dead. This time, one of them would die, or perhaps both of them as Naruto predicted so long ago. 'Yes this time we will both die here Sasuke, just as it should be.'

'No. No, I can't die here, I won't die here. I made a promise to Sakura. I will keep that promise, and I can't do it if I'm dead.'

"I must admit Naruto, your mastery over the Sage Mode far surpasses both Kabuto and Orochimaru. Collectively, all they managed to achieve was a method to collect Sage chakra while still moving, and it involved several genetic modifications. You managed to solve that problem with a simple shadow clone didn't you?"

Naruto just nodded in affirmation. Even though Sasuke had not been trained in becoming one, clearly he had been trained in how to combat a Sage.

"To be honest, you far surpassed my expectations, and have once again proven yourself to be a worthy rival. Sadly, that is all you will ever be. Just a rival, and never my equal. I'm afraid this fight must end. If I use too much more of my chakra playing with you I will have to delay my destruction of the Leaf."

Naruto watched his opponent raise his hand toward the sky as lightning flashed across the storm clouds. 'Just what are you planning Sasuke? What are you trying to do?'

Suddenly lightning struck near Sasuke, but he never flinched. All he did was hold his palm up toward the heavens. This had Naruto confused in a most complete way. He had seen no hand seals, there was little chakra being emitted, and no real sign of threat. Still, instinct told Naruto that this was not a good situation and he needed to prepare counter measures. Again lightning struck dangerously close to Sasuke, and again he was unphased.

The cloud to cloud lightning really began to put on a show. Bolts flashed across the sky, and it was truly an impressive show of the force of nature. Then Naruto could sense it, there was chakra, Sasuke's chakra, infused with real lightning. He was molding it, reshaping, and likely will soon be directing it toward Naruto himself. Hastily he made two shadow clones. 'If real lightning was involved in this attack, and if Sasuke is accurate with it, then there is no dodging this. Maybe I could with the nine tails chakra, but if I undo the seal and use his power like usual Sasuke will control Kurama and I'd have to fight them both.'

"It is futile Naruto. This is the end," and as he spoke those words the lightning appeared in the shape of a great beast. A great Kirin forged of lightning was soon staring Naruto down and it was an image that would never leave him. To see the visage of the mythical beast constructed of lightning, it was a sight of purity and power. It was ironic to Naruto. Every myth, legend, and story that he had ever heard involving a Kirin portrayed them as divine creatures with a benevolent nature. Often they would use their power to strike down the wicked and appear as a boon to the virtuous. Now, the image of one was being used by a deranged and evil man. If he had not quickly refocused to the task of creating a Rasenshuriken, then he would have doubted whether he actually was in the right by stopping Sasuke. He would have been the victim of psychological warfare in its most potent form, at least for those who know the mythology. The beast was poised and ready to strike, and the entire wrath of the storm that formed above them would soon be unleashed upon Naruto.

"Now die in the flash and the thunderclap," and without any more warning Sasuke's hand was brought down and the lightning construct moved toward the gathered storm. With clouds covering where the point of attack would be, Naruto quickly aimed a fully formed Rasenshuriken of unusual size at the point where he could sense a trace amount of Sasuke's chakra up in the sky. With no time to spare or hesitate he threw his attack and hoped it would serve its purpose. With less than a second of flight time for the devastating wind based attack it met a massive surge of electrical energy. The rotating blades of wind did not meet resistance, nor did it slow down. It divided the bolt of lightning in half and redirected its path. Each half striking in the forest on either side of the chasm the waterfall created, and each resulted in a massive explosion on impact.

If Sasuke was angered, he did not show it. Instead he moved to strike. He was obviously wearing down. In all honesty, Naruto was as well. He used the last of his Sage chakra on his massive Rasenshuriken, and was now in a state of near exhaustion. Ever since the fight began it went at full throttle with neither opponent toying around much. Both had been trying to make things quick and clean. Naruto, for the sake of his friend's memory, wanted to end this fight without making Sasuke suffer. Sasuke wanted it end so he would have energy remaining to crush the Village Hidden in the Leaves beneath his heel that very day. Sasuke drew nearer with a Chidori primed and ready to go. Naruto formed the infamous Rasengan in his palm and met the incoming attack over the surface of the water. The resulting impact created a massive shockwave that forced the combatants to fly violently back toward the direction that they had come from.

Naruto was not wasting time just flopping around like a ragdoll though. He contemplated releasing his last shadow clone and entering Sage Mode again, but decided that he would only need to if Sasuke summoned a full blown Susanoo. He made a handful of shadow clones and set his plan into motion. Naruto drew out a Fūma Shuriken and launched an attack he was certain Sasuke would misjudge even with the perception of the Sharingan. As soon as he was on the ground and had managed to lose the added momentum he jumped in the air and let the bladed Shuriken fly.

It stayed on course, heading toward its target and was prepared to strike true. Though bloodied, exhausted, and nearly caught off guard by the sudden attack, Sasuke dodged it with ease relative to his situation. He also saw the second shuriken which had been hidden in the shadow of the first, and dodged that. Suddenly the second Fūma Shuriken transformed into Naruto who immediately launched a kunai at his opponent. Sasuke didn't flinch or turn around to see the attack. Likely because he knew what was coming. In response the spectral warrior Susanoo appeared to cover Sasuke like a cloak. "Do you think I am as low as Zabuza was? Did you really think I would fall for the same attack that I had taken part in?"

Just before the kunai made contact with Sasuke's ultimate defense, Naruto's answer came in the form of action. The knife transformed, again into Naruto, who quick drew his Sensei's blade and coated it with as much wind natured chakra as he could channel into it. There was no time for Sasuke to react. He plunged the blade through the chakra construct that protected his target. The added range the sword gained by being wreathed in sharpened air was more than enough to pierce both the armor and the man within. Having struck at Susanoo's weakest point it served as the knife in the back both figuratively and literally, and Naruto hated every passing moment. He did not have the extensive knowledge of human anatomy, but judging from where he struck he likely cut into the heart somewhere.

"Sasuke, I didn't think you would fall for that just like Zabuza did. I used something you were familiar with so I could take advantage of your confidence that you felt believing you knew what would happen," Naruto said clarifying what his opponent had likely figured out on his own.

Sasuke's human shaped shield faded from existence, and Naruto knew this fight had ended. He withdrew the sword and quickly cleaning off the blood, likely his own, before sheathing it again. Sasuke stood atop the water, his arms were moving, and Naruto knew his opponent was using a jutsu. Suddenly, one hand slammed into the water and on either side of the river banks hundreds of coffins sprang forth from the ground. Into the face of the wood was carved the Uchiha clan's crest, and Naruto felt a sense of dread fall on him as he realized that Sasuke's desperately wished to see the Leaf Village fall. Each member of the clan stepped out of the coffin that belonged to them and awaited the orders of the one who summoned them. More hand seals were being woven in a slower succession than the previous group, and when he had finished the members of the undead clan faded away from the world of the living. Sasuke fell face first into the water, but Naruto grabbed him and carried him to the river's edge.

"Heh," it was a weak laugh, little more than an inflection in the air that escaped his lips. Sasuke was already close to death. He must have struck an artery of the heart, Sasuke doesn't have long. "It was a good plan Naruto. Just like it was back then,"

"Thanks, I guess. I didn't want this though. I never wanted this."

There was no response, but Naruto had not really wanted one. He only wanted Sasuke to know that he did not desire this outcome. There was one thing that did bug him though, "Sasuke, just now, what was all of that?"

"So that the souls of my clan whom I held bound could be at peace after I die,"

"I see," Naruto said. He had no idea what to say now. There were so many things on his mind, and so many things he would have told Sasuke had their relationship not degraded into what it was now. So Naruto figured if nothing else, he would be here by Sasuke's side so the man he once called a brother would not have to die alone. Silence crept over them while the precious seconds of Sasuke's last moments were passing by. He would let the silence remain, but hoped Sasuke would say something so they may, perhaps both gain a sense of closure before the end has come and gone.

"I regret nothing. I did what I had to," Sasuke said breaking the haunting quiet.

"I know Sasuke,"

"Perhaps, if I knew the truth about Itachi before I was committed to this path," Sasuke started. His dark eyes met Naruto's, but it was as if Sasuke was staring through him and off into the distance somewhere, "maybe then things could have been different,"

"At least," Sasuke continued before Naruto could find words to say, "it was you that defeated me. You gave me an avenger's death, and for that I am grateful."

"Sasuke," Naruto started. He wasn't sure why he was going to ask, but he felt the need to, "were you really going to destroy the village if you beat me here?"

"Down to the last man, woman, and child," coughing, and shallow breathing were becoming more and more apparent. "There is a cancer in the village that needs to be removed Naruto. I was going to tear it out the only way I knew how."

"What is this cancer that you see?"

"Hatred," Sasuke's voice was becoming hoarse, "the hatred that lies within the heart of humanity is far too dangerous. As long as we shinobi live there will be no peace, hatred will rule this world just as it rules me."

"I want to change that too Sasuke, just like I wanted to change you," Naruto quietly admitted.

"It is far too late for me. I still hate everything you stand for. As for the hatred of others, who knows, maybe you can find a way," Sasuke said with a small smile.

Silence settled over them again. Naruto didn't know what to say. Before him, lay a man dying. This man he had called a rival, a team mate, a friend, a brother, a prodigal son, and an enemy. Here and now, this man who would have destroyed everything Naruto lived to protect was giving the closest thing he would ever hear to a full vote of confidence. Sasuke was stating, in his own subdued way, that he fully believed Naruto could solve the issue of hatred in the shinobi world. The waterworks began as Naruto couldn't hold back this overflow of conflicting emotions and simply let the tears fall down his face.

"Do something for me, Naruto," Sasuke started. His voice was failing and death was upon him, the only real reason that he still lived was simply by his overwhelming will to live. "Naruto, when you become Hokage do not let another face the same fate as Itachi. Do not allow the tragedy of my clan to be replayed."

"Of course Sasuke,"

"Also, destroy my eye. No traces of the Sharingan should remain. Kakashi alone has earned the right to use his,"

"Alright, I will"

"Oh, and tell Kakashi that his skills in stealth have gotten rusty in his old age,"

"You noticed him too huh?"

"Yeah,"

Again there was silence, but Sasuke was clinging to life a bit longer. "Naruto,"

"Yeah, Sasuke,"

"I think I understand what Sakura meant that day a year ago,"

Naruto smiled. At least here at the end of things, after a battle of ideals and swords, his last moment with Sasuke would be a solemn goodbye to an old friend rather than the heartless vanquishing of a dangerous foe. Naruto also, had now figured out what Sakura meant when Sasuke had repeated her words. It confirmed the reasons for why he had always fought to save his lost comrade in the first place. Naruto knew why Sakura loved Sasuke, and what Sasuke just said a moment ago showed the belief still held truth. Sakura saw the good in Sasuke. She saw that his desires were noble, and even though his methods were cruel, he really did want something better for the world than what he saw. The man had simply lost his way amongst the grief of his brother's death.

"Naruto, thank you, for everything,"

"Thank you Sasuke,"

With those words Sasuke let go and passed on into what lies beyond this life. Naruto lay down on his back, giving in to the total exhaustion that he was feeling. This was it. There was nothing left anymore of his team. They had each fallen in battle. Sakura died chasing after love. Sasuke died following his own hatred. While Naruto died, killing his heart to do his duty. In a certain sense it was the same as being dead.

"What else is there now? What do I do?" Naruto said to nobody in particular. He knew the answer, but for whatever reason he simply hoped someone would say it out loud. As if the heavens heard his desire, he sensed Kakashi approaching, with Ino falling in behind him.

"Well," the all too familiar voice of his Sensei casually spoke to him "you could always come back home,"

"Yeah, I guess I could," Naruto answered.

"You know, there are several people who have been missing you,"

"I guess I should at least say hey to Granny Tsunade,"

Ino came busting through the tree line in frenzy. Naruto had actually heard her coming before Kakashi arrived. As her haggard form took a spot near the pair, she hunched over and desperately tried to catch her breath.

"You know," Ino started gasping for air with each pause, "for a guy… who just…got off med leave…you are…really…pushing yourself…Kakashi…Sensei,"

"You know," Kakashi coolly began his retort, "for a ninja you are pretty out of shape,"

Naruto chuckled a little. 'Ino must not have taken too much field duty since Sakura,' he still couldn't bring himself to finish that line of thought. Rather he ignored it, and hoped one day he would be able to move on.

"I'll have you know that I happen to be," Ino seemed to be recouping quite well since her breaks for air were growing shorter in frequency, "one of the best medical ninja in the village, so I spend more time in the hospital treating people than on the training grounds running laps."

"Well, it's a good thing Naruto isn't injured too badly. If he was, he probably would have died by now," Kakashi continued to tease the rundown blonde girl.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ino's sudden realization as to why she was here hit her like a ton of bricks. She immediately switched into doctor mode and began doing a field diagnostic and treatment over Naruto's various injuries.

The moment went by silently so Ino could concentrate on her work, but it was quite surreal for Naruto. Here was a woman treating him for his various injuries after a battle, but it wasn't Sakura. It wasn't the same, even the healing chakra that was applied to his wounds was noticeably different. It lacked the same soothing quality that Sakura's had and even felt a little rough by comparison. 'Why did it come to this?'

The line of thought was something Naruto knew he would have to wrestle with when the battle with Sasuke had ended. He never imagined that the question would have become so real so quickly. It was a wholly consuming struggle to find an answer that would allow him to cope with the reality that of all of the people who have been the closest to his heart, his two best friends are now dead. 'The only things I ever wanted were people to acknowledge me, for someone to care I existed, and I wanted to protect those people with my very life. So why are the people who matter most to me the ones who suffer the most?'

The man he looked to as a father. His teacher, mentor, and friend, Jiraiya, died trying to protect Naruto from an organization that would have claimed his life. Neji, a man who Naruto looked up to and had an immense amount of respect for both his genius as a ninja and his ability to overcome the adversity that the fates threw on him, sacrificed his life to save Naruto. Sakura, the girl he idolized in his youth. A young woman who he loved completely, even if only in a platonic way, died because she followed Naruto trying to save a friend. Now there was Sasuke, someone who Naruto was ever in contention with, and their conflict, their struggle culminated in Sasuke's death. 'Who will be next? Who else will die because of me?'

He looked around first at Kakashi, and then at Ino. He thought of his other comrades at home in the village. 'Who will be the first? What if I actually become Hokage? What if I give them a mission, and they die? How much innocent blood will be on my hands? How many of my friends will I send to their graves because I make a poor choice? Hell, I just promised Sasuke that when I become Hokage I wouldn't let anyone else go down the same road he did, but I couldn't even keep him from doing that. Why do I always make promises I can never keep?'

"Naruto," Ino spoke quietly. Naruto was a little jolted from being pulled so suddenly from his line of thought. Even though her treatments were not as gentle as he remembered Sakura's to be, her eyes were just as soft and just as caring.

"Yeah Ino?" Naruto responded with curiosity.

"Thank you," she started and Naruto thought he caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down his cheek, "thank you for everything. You have sacrificed so much for the village, and I don't think I ever told you how much I appreciate everything you've done for us,"

"Don't sweat it, it's my job" Naruto replied only half meaning it while trying his best to put a grin on his face.

"Still, you don't have to carry all of this weight alone. I have an idea as to how you might feel right now. When I lost my sensei, my father, and Sakura a part of me died inside. You lose all sense of direction, forget about things that used to be important to you, and find yourself in this cycle of apathy, hopelessness, anger, and doubt. The only thing you really want to do is hide away from the world so you don't ever have to be close to someone, because if you keep everyone at arm's length you aren't so broken when you lose them."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and Naruto could feel his own eyes welling up. Kakashi, naturally had his back turned but was likely being affected by Ino's words as well. It was the truth; Naruto was honestly considering not returning home. It wasn't as if he had anyone to go home to, and the role of Hokage was certainly not the dream job he had constructed in his mind when he was still a starry eyed boy. Yet Ino's words didn't completely add up. There was a piece missing, and whether by accident or design she was holding it back from him.

"How Ino?" Naruto started bracing himself for whatever the answer may be, "How were you able to just move on? How did you find the strength to keep moving forward?"

"Each time it happened, each time I lost someone, somebody who loved me picked me up, looked me in the eye, and said 'It's not over yet, don't lose hope, we will make it through, together,'"

"You still have those people Naruto," Kakashi said breaking his silence, "You may not be able to see it right now, but you are surrounded by people who care deeply for you. I have been through exactly what you went though. I watched my best friend die. I was put in a situation where I had to kill the other. But when I made it to where you are right now, I kept everyone else out. I applied myself to my training, joined ANBU, and hoped that I would get a mission that would claim my life before I had to let anyone else get close to me. I missed out on a lot because of that, don't you go and do the same thing."

"He's right Naruto," Ino said softly, "there are so many people who are here for you. There is one person in particular who is dying to see you again,"

Naruto had an idea as to who she was talking about. He wasn't as dense as he had been in his youth, and while he was still a little shocked to hear that someone was waiting for him back home it was only a slight surprise to hear Ino confirm that she was speaking of Hinata. 'She broke up with me. She said it was for the best. Why is she still interested? Did the note I left make that big of a difference?'

As if Ino was reading his mind, which as far as he knew was completely possible, she responded to his furrowed brow saying "You know Hinata never stopped loving you. Breaking up with you was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and the only reason she did that was because she thought it would make you happy."

"Why would she ever think that?"

"Idiot," Ino said playfully, "she knew how much you cared about Sakura and learned that Sakura was developing some serious feelings for you. She put two and two together and figured she would step aside and let the man she loved be with the girl of his dreams."

'Alright, maybe I'm still just as dense as I was when I was a kid.'

"It took a long time to convince her that you never wanted things to end like that, but that little note you left really helped out," she smiled brazenly "which was quite the romantic touch if I do say so myself,"

Naruto sat, again in quiet contemplation as Ino finished up her work. To learn that Hinata still held feelings for him did change things. There was now a reason to go home. He would have someone to go home to, someone who he could live and die for, someone to build a future with. Friends were fantastic and wonderful additions to life, but none are ever as close as that special woman. The glimpses of memories he gleaned from his parents showed that the level of companionship they had transcended both friendship and romance. It was storybook stuff, and the kid that lived inside Naruto kept him searching for life's ideal. He realized, especially now that every relationship will have ups, downs, and one way or another, an ending. There was, however, always something that seemed so ideal about Hinata. Her character, her personality balanced out his faults and accentuated his strengths. He did the same for her. 'But is it the right thing to do? Would she suffer a fate like Sasuke or Sakura because of me?'

Sure, there was his dream of being Hokage one day, but his reasoning for wanting the job was to be acknowledged as a person and not a monster. So, as far as that aspect of the dream was concerned he accomplished his goal. Once that had happened the job became a means to an end. That end was to protect the village and allow his friends to build their future, to reach for their dreams. Yet, with no future of his own in the village, save the title, being Hokage seemed lackluster. If urged by the right people he may have taken it either way, but it would have been work with no heart.

"Well, that'll do it," Ino said breaking the silence, "you should be patched up enough to make the trip safely. We can't go at full speed, and you will need to visit the hospital when we get there to double check everything, but outside of that you are good as new," as she stood up she gathered her equipment and got ready to hit the road again.

Naruto sat there. 'Do I really want to go home? All of the dreams I had and all of the promises I made brought me to this point. How do I know that the dreams and promises I have yet to fulfill won't bring me to places worse than this one?'

"Well Naruto, are you ready to go?" Kakashi asked

"I don't really know," Naruto thought out loud. He wasn't all too sure that the Leaf Village was a place he should be, or even wanted to be, "after everything that has happened to Sasuke and Sakura I'm not sure I should go back. I don't want anyone else to suffer because of me,"

Sighing deeply Kakashi squatted down to be eye level with Naruto and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Naruto, where are you going to go?"

"I," He had to think deeply since the question was fairly unexpected, "I don't know,"

"Then why not go home?" Kakashi asked simply.

"Home?" Naruto thought. He tried to remember something important. It was a faded memory, and he couldn't grasp it. It had gotten lost in the hustle and bustle of all that had happened in life. "What is home?"

"Do you know all of the people who are worrying about you right now? Can you name the people who have been thinking of you at least since you left to chase Sasuke?"

'Sure I can name them. Grandma Tsunade, Shizune, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Lee, Iruka, Konohamaru, Kakashi, and Hinata.' With confidence and curiosity Naruto nodded his head in affirmation of Kakashi's question.

"Well," garnishing that invisible smile on his face that could only be identified by a single closed eye and experience Kakashi explained "they say that wherever someone is still thinking of you, that place is your home,"

There it was, an epiphany. Jiraiya had told him that very thing once upon a time, and it felt just as true to Naruto now as it had when he first heard it. It became all too clear, Hokage or not, promises or not, dreams or not, no matter where he ran to he would never be home if he was apart from all of those people who held him dear. There would be no future for him if he could not find a place to call home, and clearly the people that he needed in order to have a true home were all waiting for him in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"So are you ready to go now?"

Naruto smiled broadly and answered "Yeah, let's go home,"


	8. Promises, Kept and Made

The sun was shining, and the air was crisp. It was a relatively peaceful day as Naruto stood before an all too familiar stone. Its surface was etched with the many names of those who had fought and died serving the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He was reflecting during a time that should have demanded his focus, but he had a brief moment and this day required reflecting. Today he would reflect on the past, the present, and the future, as was his ritual on the twenty third day of July.

Today would have been Sasuke's twenty fourth birthday, had he been alive to celebrate it. His name had never appeared on the stone. He died a traitor to the village, and so his memory would only be honored by Naruto and perhaps those who chose to remember Sasuke in a positive light or as the antihero with a truly tragic life. It had actually been difficult for Naruto to even have Sasuke buried in the village walls, and Tsunade had fought tooth and nail against laying his body to rest beside Sakura. She relented only because Naruto was resolute in this wish. She still sees the whole arrangement as a mockery to Sakura, but Naruto would always respond with a warm smile and affirm that those two wouldn't want it any other way.

It was quiet for the moment, but he knew that it wouldn't last long. Things never stayed quiet for long in the village, but in spite of this the village was beginning an age of peace it had never known before. The largest threats it had faced were dealt with years ago the day Naruto faced Sasuke in mortal combat. Tsunade had faced off against Orochimaru, and survived the fight until she was saved, for lack of a better word, by the resurrected parents of Sasuke. She didn't describe the battle much, but always said that it was precarious to try and fight Orochimaru while always having to look over her shoulder and watch her own back. Nevertheless, when the fight had ended she discovered that Orochimaru had possessed the body of his former subordinate Kabuto putting an end to their threat. She spent the rest of the day at the village gates preparing for the worst, but hoping Naruto would be found on the horizon.

His reintroduction to the village was a celebration, partly because the great hero of the Leaf was back home, and also because he had saved the village yet again. As he got to the gates the crowd parted and gave him a clear path. She stood there, just as she did when he would be returning home from a mission in the years prior. Her eyes were full of hope and promise, a tear of joy was blazing a trail down her cheek. A smile brighter than the sun itself slowly grew on her face. She had one hand clutching her jacket held right over her heart, as if to try and keep it from leaping out of her chest. Naruto remembered saying something, and it was probably kind of cheesy, but she didn't care. Hinata broke into a dead sprint and launched her delicate looking frame into a fierce hug.

This was not to say that the continuation of their relationship was easy, or that they had no issues to deal with, but in that moment they had each other, and in that moment they knew that somehow things would work out. As they spent the following weeks resolving the personal issues that had become aware to them both, and Naruto reacquainted himself with village life again. Once Hinata felt her confidence surging from the assurance that Naruto had never seen her as a second choice or someone he would just settle for and once Naruto was confident that Hinata was not going to abandon him at the first sign of difficulty their romance began with a renewed passion.

Naruto's time alone searching for Sasuke had born fruit. He had finally found a passable solution to the Caged Bird Seal puzzle. He never could find a way to remove the seal in its entirety; the seal was simply far too secure, and Naruto was not as great at the sealing arts as some had claimed. He was, however, able to find a way of altering the seal's design in such a way that it would protect the Hyuuga clan's famous Kekkei Genkai upon their death, while at the same time would remove the ability to use the seal as a torture device. As an added feature Naruto constructed this new seal so that new applications it did not require it to be placed only on the forehead, but could be placed just about anywhere. As a show of good faith and their confidence in Naruto's work Hinata, Hanabi, and Hiashi all received this new seal. Hiashi declared the moment to be the beginning of a new age of unity for the Hyuuga clan where the torch of destiny would be carried by all and not just main branch. It took months for Naruto to alter the seals of the entire clan, and months more to teach the technique to the clan leaders. For the first time, the destiny of the branch families of the Hyuuga clan was firmly placed in their hands.

Naruto spent most of his days in the years following at Tsunade's beck and call. She claimed that it was specialized training so he could learn decorum, polity, and negotiation, but to Naruto it seemed to be her just pawning off all of her paperwork on him. The truth was a mix between Naruto's perception of the situation, and what he discovered to be Tsunade's attempt to make Ino a full-fledged combat medic and someone who was worthy to take up her mantle in the medical corp. Tsunade would tease and provoke Ino's ire concerning a lack of true progress, but the truth was Ino was becoming a medical ninja of great renown under Tsunade's tutelage. It was strange to Naruto, but it never seemed to feel as if they were trying to replace Sakura. From a military preparedness standpoint they were trying to fill in the gap Sakura's death had left, but from a more emotional and personal stand point it just felt like they were doing what they could to honor her memory.

Tsunade announced her plans for Naruto become the Hokage proceeding her to the jonin in order to check for their approval, and he passed unanimously. As the news trickled down to the ears of the villagers not a soul was surprised, and they were incredibly cheerful that Naruto would be the next Hokage. Shikamaru would often tease Naruto telling him that Tsunade only made the announcement to prevent the village from revolting, and not because she actually wanted him to be the Hokage. Naruto would promptly tell Shikamaru to shove it, and they would laugh like old friends do after giving each other a hard time.

'I guess I need to go back and check on them,' Naruto thought as he retrained his focus on the task at hand, 'Sakura, Sasuke, they remind me so much of us. I hope that I can help them develop deep and lasting bonds with each other,'

He moved with great haste to the place where he had left his prize. He found each of them sitting just as he had left them. Two boys each flanking a young girl tied to a post. He stayed hidden to watch the scene unfold. The boy to her right offered her his lunch in clear defiance of the rules Naruto set for the final leg of the bell test. The boy had a short cut head of navy blue hair that is common of the Sarutobi clan. Naruto was never too sure how the young Takashi Sarutobi was related to Asuma, Konohamaru, or the Third, but the boy was not exactly how he remembered any of the shining examples of the great Sarutobi clan. He was orphaned during the war, but because of his heritage he had the makings of a great ninja. Graduating at the top of the Academy he was sure of himself to the point of arrogance. Naruto, however, could not deny that the boy was skilled beyond every expectation that he held. During his test Naruto was thoroughly impressed by the fact the boy could already use a basic nature transformation technique.

The girl seemed surprised that the young boy offered his food to her. Misaki Kimura was also a war orphan. She lived in a small farming village in Fire Country that had been nearly destroyed during the war. She lost her parents, and the village had lost track of her suffering in the effort of reconstruction. She was brought to the village by Teuchi who was passing through looking for a new source for certain ingredients. His compassion had given her hope, and the stories of an orphan who became a powerful ninja that saved the Leaf village inspired her to become a ninja herself. She was brash and boastful which annoyed several of her Academy classmates, and didn't do terribly well graduating at the bottom of the class. She had no natural talent as a ninja, but Iruka suspected that she was just a little slow on the uptake. She was quite clever though, and once she felt she had mastered a skill she would use it in very inventive ways. Her improvisation in a fight made her flexible, and dangerous in her own unique way. Her lack of fundamentals and natural talent was holding her back though. There was a determination in her character, a fire in her eyes, that made Naruto confident that she could go far as a ninja.

The other boy seemed to be equally surprised, but wore a gentle smile and offered his food as well. Hiraku Hyuuga was a gentle soul who had displayed great skill throughout the years he spent in the Academy. From what he had seen of the boy and from the information he gained from Iruka and Hinata, he is a perfect blend of both Neji and Hinata. Both his skills and his character seemed to reflect the best of both. He was fierce in battle and truly gifted amongst the Hyuuga, but he was a gentle and caring young man by nature who seemed to serve as a balance between the personalities of Misaki and Takashi. His profile had said that he, like many of his clan, had exceptional chakra control. His skill in the Gentle Fist, and his apparent mastery of chakra control training exercises such as tree climbing and water walking had already been displayed that afternoon, and Naruto knew that he would grow into an astounding ninja. Hiraku, however, lacked interest in combat. Naruto had to goad, tease, and basically insult the boy to get him to engage. When he did fight, he was a handful, but it was giving him the motivation to actually do it that was the challenge.

Traditionally they would make a team out of the number one boy in the graduating class, the number one girl in the graduating class, and the dead last. As a general rule, they try not to have more than one girl per team. This is done in part to cut down on the amount of teenage dramatics that girls seem to get wrapped up in, and partly because there usually are not enough girls enrolled in the Shinobi program to have more than one per team in the first place. This year was the first time in some random statistical anomaly, that Naruto "unintentionally" ignored, in which a girl was at the bottom of the entire class. The natural solution was to simply do what the village did the last time this happened, which was to pair up the girl with the top two boys of the graduating class.

'Well, they broke my rule. It's time to scare the pants off of them until they tell me why they did.'

Smoke erupted mere feet from the trio, and as it cleared Naruto stood arms crossed and a look of pure feral rage was on his face.

"**What do you think you are doing?**" Naruto asked as the children looked at him in absolute terror, and Naruto was doing his best to keep up the act rather than split his sides in laughter.

"Gi-" Takashi started and stumbled. He was mustering up courage to face his Sensei, which Naruto took to be a good sign. "We are giving Misaki part of our lunch Naruto-Sensei,"

'It'll take a while to get used to the whole _Naruto-Sensei_ thing,'

"**WHY? I told you not to feed her under any circumstances!**"

"Because," Hiraku started. He seemed to be calm, but was still fairly frightened by Naruto's display. "You said that the test was set up to see if we could act as a team instead of acting as individuals,"

"**SO WHAT! I also said that you be dropped from the program all together if you broke the rules again! So why did you do it?**"

"But Sensei," Misaki almost sounded like she was complaining. It was as if this display was not affecting her anymore.

'She's kind of fearless too. I think that she'll do splendidly.'

"Takashi said that you were way too good for us to take on by ourselves," She started, "So if any plan was gonna work then Takashi said I would have to eat and regain my strength, so that's why they were offering me their food,"

'Really, Takashi said that? Maybe he isn't stuck up like I was worried he was,'

"**Takashi!**" The boy snapped his gaze to Naruto's, his confidence in his actions was clearly visible in his eyes. "**You deliberately disobeyed my orders. You will never fulfill your dream of serving on the Guardian Shinobi Twelve if you are removed from the program. If you want to become a genin, then kill Misaki now!**"

Misaki was worried, and perhaps a little hurt that Naruto would order her death like that. Tears were building in her eyes. She looked so certain that Takashi would end her life to fulfill his dream, and Naruto knew when this was over, after Takashi decided one way or the other, he would have a talk with the girl and help her understand that this was only a test. He would never let any harm befall her, and like all of the teachers and instructors he had over the years, he would die to keep her safe. Misaki's hope was restored, but in a seemingly unexpected way.

"If you try it Sarutobi, I will stop you," Hiraku said matter-of-factly as he stood up taking defensive stance of the Gentle Fist form. Upon hearing that she had a stalwart defender Misaki's signature mile-wide, radiant smile was plastered on her face.

'So this is your motivation Hiraku. Just like Neji you are a noble warrior, like Hinata you possess a kind heart, and like both you will defend your friends no matter the cost. Teaching you will be a true honor.'

Takashi drew his kunai knife. Hiraku rushed to move between an oncoming attack, and Misaki braced for impact. But the attack never came. Rather an attack was made, but not against Misaki, and not against Hiraku. The kunai was thrown toward Naruto. It was a bit off target so Naruto stood unconcerned. As the blade passed by it tore against the material of his headband, and Naruto was curious if that was his intended target.

"Well, that seemed a bit unnecessary," Naruto said as his voice and countenance returned to normal, "I guess you don't mind not becoming a ninja after all?"

"You don't deserve to wear that headband," Takashi said with a flare of arrogance that reminded Naruto of Sasuke ever so much.

"Come again," Naruto said showing a bit of frustration at the child's words.

"You want to wear that head band and you expect me to call you Sensei, but you would just command me to kill a comrade without any second thoughts? Go ahead and drop me, I wouldn't want to be your student anyway," Naruto almost smiled at the kid's bravado, but wore a straight face to keep up appearances.

'This is going to be a whole lot of fun.'

"Well, it's a shame you feel that way. How about the rest of you guys? Do you all feel the same way?"

They shook their head in agreement with Takashi's words.

"I'm sorry to tell you," after pausing for a dramatic effect Nartuo finally let the foxy grin he had been holding back show "you pass!"

There was a breakout of confusion on the children's faces as they tried to figure out how they passed.

"You defied the rules I set for you and finally began thinking about the team as a whole. Rather than acting as individuals and thinking only of yourselves you realized that the group's success was the only way to guarantee any success. Even when faced with an impossible choice you still thought of the group. Takashi, you were willing to sacrifice your dream and Hiraku, you were willing to risk your life. This is what it means to be Shinobi. My Sensei once told me that those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who don't care about their comrades are worse than scum. So from here on, I am proud to call all of you my genin students."

Misaki was cheering wildly, while Hiraku and Takashi smiled at their little victory.

"Alright I'm a genin! I'm that much closer to becoming Hokage!"

"Whatever loser!" Takashi responded to Misaki's raving, "You couldn't become Hokage in a million years. My grandmother stands a better chance."

"I'm going to be Hokage one day!" Misaki answered, "It's going to happen. You can bet on it!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to doubt her Takashi," Naruto said as he moved to untie the girl making sure not to just leave her there like he had been.

"Why is that Sensei?" Takashi asked with a snide voice, "It's not like she has any real skills or natural talent, so how could she ever become Hokage. The Hokage is supposed to be the best and most powerful ninja in the village, so what makes you think she could do it?"

"Well, you might have heard that I am supposed to be the next Hokage after Granny Tsunade decides to call it quits right?"

Takashi shook his head in affirmation.

"When I was first starting out as a ninja, my Sensei gave me the same exact test I just gave you."

"You must have gotten one of the bells Sensei," Hiraku spoke with a quiet amazement in his voice "Lady Hinata always speaks of how you are the greatest ninja this village has seen since the Fourth Hokage,"

Naruto blushed slightly and began scratching the back of his head. Hinata's praises always embarrassed him, not because she was praising him, or that she thought so highly of him, but despite all of his bragging and showmanship he never cared to stay in the spotlight too long. "Well I don't know if I'm that good, but to answer your question Takashi. I think she can do it if she works hard and gives it her all, because when I took this test, I was tied to this very post just like she was."

"No way!" Takashi was shocked that the great and powerful Uzumaki Naruto he had learned about from Iruka was ever a lame ninja.

"Yup, it's the truth," Naruto said as he untied the final knot. "I even graduated as the dead last of my Academy class too. So that's how I know that she can become Hokage if she really works hard at it,"

They stood thinking about all that had happened, and all that had been said. Naruto dismissed them informing them of their training schedule and as they began to leave Naruto called out "Misaki, I'd like to speak with you for a moment," and with that Misaki came running back to him curious as to what he could want.

"What is it Naruto-Sensei?"

'Man that just sounds weird.'

"I wanted to speak with you about the test," Naruto started unsure of how he could both apologize for the order he gave, and reassure her that she was never in any real harm. It was going to be awkward for Naruto at the very least, but he continued "I want to say I am sorry if I got you worried back there. I wanted to test Takashi, but you have to know that I would never-"

"It's alright Naruto-Sensei," Misaki interrupted. "It was all a part of the test right? Old man Teuchi always tells me stories about you and your adventures. He always says that you were the bravest ninja he ever knew, and you would always defend people with all of your strength. I was kind of scared, but I understand what you were trying to do. I know you weren't going to let him hurt me."

Naruto laughed a little. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age," and she beamed at the thought of being just like the one person she admired most. "You are way too understanding, just like I am. Promise me something, will you?"

"Sure Sensei!" her grin spread from ear to ear. Just like Naruto was back in his youth, this sweet little orphan girl was eager to please anybody who was willing to give her the time of day and honestly believe she was worth something. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to promise me that you will work really hard to learn what I have to teach you. Promise me that you will always try your best. Promise me that you will find people who are precious to you, and promise me that you will fight to protect those people."

"I promise Sensei," the girl said with a bright, warm smile. Her long black hair fluttered as the breeze picked up and her deep crystal green eyes bore into Naruto's as she said something that Naruto will never forget "I promise I will do all of that, and I don't go back on my word!"

As she ran home and the image became smaller and smaller on the horizon Naruto couldn't help but feel like he had been staring into some odd mirror. 'If you can do all that, then perhaps one day I can proudly call you the next Hokage, Kimura Misaki,' he thought as he began to gather his equipment.

"Naruto," a familiar voice called out to him, as he looked for its owner. It was not that he didn't recognize Hinata when he heard her, but seeing her face was much more rewarding than listening to her disembodied voice. Her soft, gentle eyes met his as she stepped out from her hiding place on the edge of the wood. "How did things go?"

"I thought it went pretty well. What did you think? You were watching right?" Naruto asked the young woman.

"I thought you may have been a bit rough on them," Hinata responded with concern written on her face.

"Kakashi-Sensei gave us the same test, so I guess I was just doing things as I was taught. To be quite honest I'm not too sure that I'm cut out to be a teacher like this. I mean I can teach a jutsu or two like I did with Konohamaru, but I don't know about teaching them everything."

Hinata smiled, and that smile always seemed to melt Naruto's troubles and doubts. "I think that you will be a wonderful Sensei. I could see the way they look at you. They admire and respect you. Even Takashi looked a little disturbed when you ordered him to kill Misaki. Hiraku always wants to hear about you when he sees me. So I can tell that those two hold you in high regard."

Naruto laughed heartily, "Yeah I think you may have given Hiraku ideas about me always being some amazing super ninja or something," and Hinata giggled in response.

"I might have exaggerated a little here and there," and though it was hard to distinguish with the trademark Hyuuga eyes Naruto caught the playful look the woman was giving him as he took her hand in his. They began to walk back toward their home in the village.

"Misaki reminds me so much of you," Naruto placed his one free hand on the back of his head as a subconscious signal of embarrassment from Hinata's words.

"Yeah, I figured you would say that. It is a little scary how she seems to be just like me,"

"Do you really think she can become the Hokage someday?"

"Did you think I could become Hokage?"

Hinata smiled, but never answered. She didn't need to though. He knew that Hinata always had faith in him. They walked the village streets enjoying the ambient sounds of village life and the scenery that came with it. The village was growing, and had become a refuge for those who had lost their homes in the war. People who had lost everything were rebuilding their lives and families future under the canopy of the Hidden Leaf. Naruto was spearheading a project to tear down the walls of the old Uchiha compound and put the buildings to use as low cost living space for the wartime refugees. He was also pushing to turn Sasuke's old home as a monument to the true legacy of the Uchiha clan. It took months and every ounce of influence he could muster to disclose Itachi's mission to slaughter his kin and his desire to manipulate Sasuke into regaining the clan's good name in the eyes of the village. He hoped that if people knew the truth and knew how Sasuke's quest for revenge ended, that it would foster a mindset of trying to truly understand people rather than just closing off the hope of resolving differences peacefully. The public embraced the truth of Itachi hailing him to be a hero and adding his name to the Memorial Stone. Vindication, however, was not given to Sasuke. Though people seemed to be sympathetic of his story, the scars Sasuke left were still too fresh for people to simply forgive him.

Only time would tell if anything that Naruto had accomplished or worked for would be an improvement upon the world that he had entered into. It had been nearly seven years since the end of the war, and the Grand Shinobi Alliance may have been disbanded, but diplomatic relations were still as strong as they have ever been. Issues with other nations were attempted to be resolved through negotiation before taking military action. In all honesty there had been very few real issues. The only problems they faced were the occasional boarder dispute with some minor nations, the rare scare created by unannounced training drills near boarders, and domestic problems with village infighting or natural disasters. When all things were said and done life had been peaceful for a long time.

This of course would not remain. The tailed beasts had yet to return to the world, and when they did there would be several issues that Naruto had yet to find solutions to. The first was containment. Having been a jinchūriki, he was uneasy about the notion of saddling anyone else with the burdens that come with being the container for a demon. Sure, there were benefits and unimaginable power, but there was also the loneliness of an outcast and the fear of losing control. Naruto was one of the few voices that remained adamant about not creating another jinchūriki. Gaara also spoke out against the act, but noted the only practical solution was sealing away the demons inside of a human being.

The other major issue that this created was maintaining a balance of power. The first Hokage oversaw the distribution of the demon's powers in such a way that each of the shinobi villages had a sort of war deterrent, but even the work of the genius First Hokage could not prevent war from breaking out again. It really seemed as if the more work that was done to secure the safety of the village, the more jeopardy that it would be placed in later. Perhaps, Sasuke was not too far off.

"Hinata, do you think that Sasuke was right?"

"What do you mean Naruto?" She focused her eyes on Naruto instead of gazing into the little shops that lined the village streets.

"Sasuke told me that shinobi were like a disease in this world. He said that because of ninja the rest of the world will never know peace. Do you think he is right?"

Hinata's face grew worried as she heard Naruto speak, and Naruto silently wondered if he should have just kept his thoughts to himself.

"Shinobi are trained to be weapons. We are told to cast aside our feelings and do what we are ordered. We are forced to make hard choices between what we want and what is right, and often we are put in situations where we must compromise our beliefs and sacrifice our dreams. Sometimes we are treated as tools, and sometimes we convince ourselves that we are tools. However, I don't think that the ninja is the source of all of the trouble in this world. Naruto, you could erase shinobi from all existence, but the people who wish others harm will still exist. They will acquire a new form of power, and they will use it to hurt the innocent."

"So is there really anything we can do to make things different, or are we just trying to look left while we are already looking right?"

"Well Naruto-Sensei," Hinata teased.

"I swear when you finally take on a genin squad I am going to give you so much trouble," Naruto interrupted. His question and teasing threat did not seem to damper her playful mood.

"I think if you were to teach your students how to first be honorable people, rather than teaching them to be living weapons then you might be taking a step in the right direction. Teach them that power is not meant to be a sword, but a shield. Teach them that ninja are to be guardians and not heartless killers. Teach them how to listen to other people's hearts and not just the words they speak. Naruto, you shouldn't worry so much about trying to solve all of the problems in the world. You are a wonderful man, and I love you dearly. Just do your best, do what you know in your heart is right, and remember that I will always be here to help you."

The swirling mass of stress and crisis that had built up inside Naruto's thoughts was melting away. Hinata had somehow always been able to calm him down, help him focus, and take on whatever he was up against. When he was a boy she was in the background cheering him on. As they grew up she stood in front of him to protect him from his own doubt. Now here she stood, by his side urging him to keep moving forward. As long as she was by his side he would continue to push toward his goal. That thought brought a warm smile to his face as he pulled her in close and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"So," Naruto began quizzically, "what does the beautiful Uzumaki Hinata have planned for tonight?"

"Um," she tried to reply as normally as possible, but the blush was growing more prominent, "I was going to make us some dinner, and well, I guess spend time with you,"

"Sounds like a plan to me," as he thought about enjoying Hinata's marvelous cooking he saw what he thought to be a tuft of dark blue hair working its way up the path to the stone faces that adorned the rock wall overlooking the village. After focusing his eyes on the figure in the distance he discovered that, sure enough, he saw Takashi was walking the path alone. The look on his face was one of somber reflection, as if he was deep in thought. Naruto knew better though, he had worn that mask many times in his youth. He wore it when he felt as though the world was falling around him. He wore this mask so he did not have to shed tears, because to do that was to let the rest of the village know he was weak and vulnerable, and it would let the world know it was defeating him. "Hey Hinata, I'm going to catch up with you later, there is something I need to do real quick," and with that said he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and rushed off to catch up to his student.

Drawing upon the strength of the Kyuubi's chakra he adorned the cloak of power and in a flash of movement that was near instantaneous, he was resting upon the carved image of his father. He waited for the young boy to reach the top. Doing so allowed him to take a moment to enjoy the simple pleasure of watching the sun set in the distance. The way the sky was painted with various shades of red and blue. The violets that were made from their mixture gave him a sense of peace. This place, these people, this village, it was beautiful, and it was precious to him. For this village and its people he had been saddled with a great burden, been treated as an outcast, made friends, fell in love, and grown into the man he is. This place was as much a part of him as his very blood. "Sasuke, I wish you could have seen it as I do. I wish you had loved it as Itachi did. I wish you would have done it all differently. If you had only decided to protect the village, then who knows what might have happened. You could have helped me affect the change that we both knew this village needs. Heck, you might have even become Hokage in my place, but I guess I'll just have to fight Konohamaru to keep the job."

His musing continued until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his right to see his new student taking a seat on the stone head of his relative Sarutobi Hiruzen. He let the boy get comfortable and wondered what was going through the kid's mind. He was curious if Takashi even knew Naruto was there. It surprised Naruto to learn that he could become so still and calm that people would not notice his presence, even if he wasn't trying to hide. Minutes pass and Naruto's impatience gets the better of him. "It's a beautiful sight isn't it?"

"Naruto-sensei?" The boy responded with noticed shock in his voice, "Did you follow me here?"

"Kinda. I saw you heading up the cliff so I thought I would join you. I've been here for a while really, so I guess you followed me. I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it," Naruto harassed playfully.

"What did you want?" Suspicion was ripe in the boy's voice.

"Nothing really," Naruto was hoping to break through whatever emotional defenses the boy had erected. It was early in his life and he was still emotionally vulnerable. Whatever demons the child might be facing, whatever unresolved issues remain in his heart, and whatever closure he needs from the loss of his family Naruto wanted to deal with them quickly. While he holds no grudge against Kakashi, both he and his Sensei knew that the Sasuke crisis may have been averted had Kakashi been more proactive in fostering a real relationship rather than creating a rivalry. "I guess I thought you could use the company,"

"Why would I need company?" He was masking his pain with attitude.

"The look on your face told me you did. You looked lonely,"

"Like you would know what it's like to be lonely. You're the greatest ninja in the village, and you're going to be Hokage. Everyone knows you, everyone respects you, and everyone wants to be near you. What would you know about being lonely?" There was venom on his lips, and a subdued anger on his breath. He had yet to really be harsh, but Naruto could tell that he was pushing all of the right buttons. Should he keep pushing them then they would get to the root cause, and a solution could be considered.

"Alright, let's say you're right. Let's say I don't know a thing about being lonely. Tell me, what is it like?"

"You wouldn't understand,"

"Make me understand," Their eyes met and he could see the boy was amazed by his absolute desire to connect with him on some level. Yet, Takashi's amazement did not draw from the kid's frustration. Naruto was still pressing an issue that he clearly didn't want to discuss, and it was obviously beginning to irk him.

"Fine," the boy replied curtly. "I am lonely because I have no family."

"What about your clan. The Sarutobi clan is your family isn't it?"

"Technically yes, but nobody has time for me. I don't matter to them. It's almost like I don't even exist," His fists were clinched and his voice was being laced with the anger rising toward the surface.

"Konohamaru doesn't have time for you?"

"No, I never see that guy. He's supposed to be the head of the clan or something like that, but I've never seen him outside of village ceremony stuff,"

That comes as no real surprise. Konohamaru was a captain in the ranks of ANBU, so free time is something that comes at a premium for his younger counterpart. When he got a moment he would have to talk to Tsunade and Konohamaru about either settling into a focused shinobi career or becoming serious about leading his clan. He can't keep doing both. Those who are in desperate need of the clan's compassion and leadership are beginning to slip through the cracks.

"What about Kurenai-sensei?"

"Who is that?" It then became clear that Kurenai never really immersed herself in the business of Asuma's family. They had not wed before Asuma's untimely death and even though she had his child, membership into the clan had never been offered to her. Not surprising as tradition goes, but Kurenai must not have sought out the clan for help either. Preferring not to impose Naruto imagined.

"What happened to your parents?" While Naruto knew that answer already, sometimes things just need to be said instead of bottled up inside.

"They died in the war. I was young when the war started, but I can remember them. They loved me, we were happy, and the war stole them from me,"

"They died heroes. I can't say I know them, but I can say they are true heroes. They were protecting the village from the greatest threat it had ever faced," Naruto was really just reflecting but it was loud enough for Takashi to hear him.

"Protecting the village!" Takashi was yelling now, and he had hit the nail on the head. The orphan was angry at the village, and likely everyone responsible for the war, and by proxy for the death of his parents. "Let the village burn, I don't care! We were happy!" Tears were flowing freely down the boy's face as his words came through with a sobbing voice. "We were happy. We were together. We were a family. They didn't have to go. They didn't have to fight."

Naruto let the young boy cry for a moment. What he said next could possibly be the very thing that keeps the boy from journeying down the trail that Sasuke blazed. If Naruto couldn't help this kid work through his issues then it was likely he would seek some sort of vengeance against the village. If that happened he would be breaking the one promise that Sasuke ever asked of him. Minutes had passed and Naruto had decided upon his speech. To be honest this was probably the first one he had planned out. While it would still be heartfelt and full of emotion, he wasn't just improvising this time. If this one worked out in the end then Naruto had decided that he might just plan more important speeches rather than simply winging it.

"Can I tell you a story?"

Silence was his answer, but Takashi had pulled himself together and seemed to be attentive. "There was once a young ninja, who much like yourself, was very gifted. He was the best ninja of his generation, and the village was proud of him. Also like you this boy was alone. His family had been murdered by his older brother. He blamed his brother on his loneliness and vowed to kill him as payment for the pain his brother brought him. He joined a genin team, and even though he tried to make friends he still felt alone. He discovered that one of his teammates was also alone. He learned his friend had no family at all, and had been all by himself since the day he was born. Even though they had a lot in common, it wasn't enough for this young man. His teammate only understood loneliness, and didn't know what it was like to have a family and then lose it. His friend tried to understand. He tried his best to connect, but his best wasn't good enough. The boy grew in strength and skill and left the village to kill his brother. He abandoned his teammates because nobody understood his pain. Even though he was surrounded by people who cared about him, nobody understood him, and so he still felt alone. When he left the village he severed the bonds of friendship he had created with his team. He left to fulfill his goals, but what he didn't know was that when he left his teammates understood his pain. When he left he created the same loneliness in the hearts of his friends that he always had felt. What he didn't know was that he had done to his friends just what his brother had done to him. He created a hole in the hearts of the one's he loved most."

Naruto let the story sink in for a moment, giving his young student time to reflect on what he said. "Do you know why I told you that story?"

"No," Takashi's voice was calmer now and he seemed to be deep in thought. Naruto figured he was trying to figure out the significance of the story.

"I told you that story because there is a lesson for you to learn from it,"

"What lesson is that? I never said I want to leave the village and I don't have a brother to kill, so what do I have to learn?" a slight edge returned to his voice, but it seemed to be warded off by his curiosity.

"I wanted you to realize that there are people who care for you. You may not see it, and you may not recognize them, but they don't have to understand your pain in order to truly care about you. They don't have to know exactly what you are going through to help you alleviate the pain you feel. I want you to know that there are others who care about you and others who understand your pain far more than you can know."

"Sensei," Takashi started. His face was sullen, and had been moved in some way by what Naruto had said, but even Naruto knew that it wasn't enough. He had left room for questions because he had more he wanted to say. "Was that story you just told about you?"

"Sort of, but I'm not the main character. The boy I was talking about was Uchiha Sasuke. I was the teammate,"

"You were the one who never had a family, and your teammate's family was murdered by his brother?"

"Yeah, I never knew my parents. It took me a good sixteen years to even learn their names. I grew up the jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Fox, and people despised me for what I carried. I was ignored by the entirety of the village for most of my younger years, and I became a ninja to earn their respect and acknowledgement. Kinda selfish now that I look back at it, but those didn't stay my goals for too long. When I learned that Sasuke was alone like I was I really tried to connect with him. I wanted to be like him. He was a fantastic ninja, but it wasn't enough for him. Fame, respect, friendship, nothing mattered to him except the power to kill his brother. He left the village and told me I would never understand because I never had a family in the first place. What he never knew was that when he left it felt like I lost a brother."

"So did you mean that you were the one who understands my pain?"

"Kind of. I know exactly what loneliness feels like, and I know what it is like to lose those who are precious to you, but I still don't really understand what it is like to have a real family."

"Then who did you mean?"

"I was talking about Misaki," Naruto said plainly and gauged the reaction of his student who scoffed at the idea that the girl who wanted to play ninja was anything like him.

"What makes you think that she is anything like me?"

"I shouldn't really tell you. It's her story and if you want to hear it you should really ask her, but if you are going to be on our team I can give you the basics. Like you, she was orphaned during the war. She grew up in a farming village out in the north eastern parts of Fire country, and as the village was trying to rebuild itself she was forgotten. She lost her parents and was cast aside, so she knows exactly how you feel. If you ask me, I think she looks at you the way I looked at Sasuke when I was your age. I think she sees you as a goal of sorts. She sees you went through something similar, and she wants to become a ninja of your caliber."

There was mild shock on his face. Clearly he had not known Misaki's story. He, like many others probably had, only seen what was on the surface. They only saw Misaki as a brash, if ambitious, young girl who was nothing but talk. Takashi was thinking on what had been said, and as the sun sank below the horizon the last bits of daylight were clinging to the darkening evening sky. Naruto stood up and prepared himself to head out. He had given the boy plenty to think on. Their conversation wasn't over, not by a long shot, but for now it was best to allow the young man time to reflect.

"Well, I better head home. Remember we will meet up at the training grounds at sunrise. In spite of the test today, I am a fairly punctual person so I want you to be there on time. We'll do some team training, I'll show you a few exercises and drills you can do individually, and then we will report for our first mission assignment."

The boy nodded in comprehension of his instructions before Naruto continued, "Takashi, if you ever want to talk, or just need a place to stay my door is always open to you." Just as he was about to jump off the stone face, Takashi spoke.

"Sensei, I don't understand,"

"Understand what?"

"Why would they throw their lives away to save the village? Didn't they want to stay? Didn't they want to be happy?"

Naruto knew the boy understood the ninja's duty to his village, and how sometimes that leads to sacrifice. What the boy didn't understand was why people are willing sacrifice their own lives in spite of the fact that it would tear them apart from all they love. "My parents died the day I was born. My father sealed the spirit of the Nine Tailed Fox away inside of me, and my mother died alongside him trying to keep me alive during the sealing process. Their death saved the village. It also condemned me to a life of loneliness and pain. The village was safe, and even though I was alone, I grew up in a place of relative safety. My parents ensured that I would live, and I would be safe. I imagine that your parents had similar thoughts. They knew what they were doing. They saw the village as something precious, something worth protecting. I imagine that they thought of the village that way because they saw you as something precious and worth protecting."

The boy didn't seem too surprised by this revelation. From what Naruto saw of his reaction it was almost as if Takashi knew the answer already, but had locked it away in the back of his mind and forgot about it while looking for someone to blame. The free flow of tears that were streaming from his eyes reflected his relief at learning that his parents had not sacrificed themselves needlessly. "I'm sorry Sensei. I'm breaking the rules. A shinobi never lets anyone see them cry, right?"

It was less of a question and more of a statement by the sound of his voice, but it didn't matter. Naruto never was one for the rules. "I don't see anyone crying here," Naruto said as he turned again to leave.

"Naruto-sensei," again the boy interrupted his departure with another question, but Naruto wasn't too sure what he could be wanting this time. "How did you get over feeling so alone?"

"Well, like I said I never really knew my family or what it was like to have one. So I guess I just considered the people closest to me to be my family. My genin team was the first time I felt like I had family. The older I got, the more friends I had, and I cared for my friends as if they were my family. That is how I got over being so lonely all the time I guess. I considered everyone I thought as a friend to be someone precious to me. I think of the village as something precious to me because it is my home and the home of my loved ones. So what you could do Takashi is hold your friends close, protect those who are precious to you, and learn to think of the village as one big family," Naruto said with a grin on his face hoping that this pep talk would be something that would be a positive moment in his students growth.

"I'll see you tomorrow Takashi,"

"Later Sensei," Takashi had a smirk on his face as Naruto left him to his own devices. Naruto wasted no time returning home. He had kept Hinata waiting on him long enough, and was quite eager to get home.

Traversing the village via the rooftops at night Naruto thought of the future he was building with his young genin. He knew that they held the same hopes, the same promise, and the same potential that his team did so many years ago. He thought of the home he would be building with Hinata. It would be the home he never had and always wished for, and still in some respects it would be the same home that his parents had secured for him with their blood. He thought of the family he would be building within the village as its Sixth Hokage. It would be a long and difficult road, but he would instill the desire for finding a sense of family with one's brothers in arms just as he had with Sasuke and Sakura.

He stepped through the threshold into his modest home, and he heard noise in the kitchen. The sound of dishes clanking together was soon joined with the soft, sweet, sound of his beloved wife, "Naruto? Is that you? I left you something to eat. I wasn't sure when you would get back so I started without you,"

Naruto didn't answer. He just walked up behind the young woman and wrapped his arms around her, holding on to her firmly. He kissed at the nape of her neck, which caused Hinata to be just show her concern after getting past her initial excitement caused by her husband's advances. Naruto was an affectionate man, but he rarely initiated his affections when the mood didn't at least hint at the contact. Call it naivety, but it was just one more thing where Naruto was slow on the uptake.

"Is something the matter Naruto?"

Naruto understood why she was concerned. It was Sasuke's birthday, and it had been a day where Naruto would typically be quiet, reserved, and introspective. Today he just wasn't bothered by the emotions surrounding Sasuke's life and death. He thought about what the day had brought, and he was his typical happy go lucky self. He appreciated the moments in his life where both Sasuke and Sakura had been present. Despite the pain, tears, and hardship he was grateful for them. Both their life and their death had shaped him in ways that gave him focus, tested his goals, and strengthened his resolve. Now he is in a position that required him to live in the moment to ensure success, and Kakashi had been a great help in moving on and letting go. So, he responded with the only conclusion he could draw under the circumstances.

"No, I'm alright. I am just happy to be home,"

Hinata turned to face him separating their contact for the moment, "Naruto, the other day you were talking about a promise you made to Sakura. At first, I thought that you meant the promise to bring Sasuke home, but you said it was something else," Naruto was unsure what brought this about, but was not surprised she asked. She wanted to know the moment the topic came up, but he had to go to a meeting to determine what team he would be assigned to. As such the conversation was cut short.

"Sakura knew how I felt about you. She wanted me to promise to her that I would love you just as much as she loved Sasuke," Naruto answered.

"How much was that?" Hinata asked curiously.

"She loved him until her dying breath," Naruto replied as he drew his bride into his embrace.

"What do you have planned for tomorrow," she asked as they enjoyed being in each other's arms.

"Tomorrow?" Naruto said thoughtfully, "Tomorrow I'm going to be building legacies."


End file.
